A Second Chance, New Hopes Arise OG 1
by Real Personal Trooper Type-0
Summary: Ryusei witnessed the deaths of all of his friends and family, but he is given a second chance, what changes will this cause?
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello everyone, R-0 here and welcoming you to my next FanFiction, please read the ending notes for more details on this FanFic.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Super Robot Wars and its materials, if I did, Ryusei and Kyosuke would have a combo attack.**_

* * *

Chapter 1: One Ends...

Ryusei's consciousness was slowly slipping away, he could feel the life leaving him, only having enough strength to open his eyes one more time, the sight just as horrible than his previous.

Through the cracked and wrecked display, Ryusei can see the monstrous sight of Beowulf, his white mech towering over the battlefield, standing there proudly, holding the crushed remains of Kyousuke's Alteisen Reise, Beowulf's savage cry of victory can be heard, claiming his final victim.

Why does Ryusei not help? Simple, he cannot.

Ryusei's R-1 drifts with him inside, the limbs all destroyed as well as the head unit and boosters, a powerless husk floating in space, the damage too extensive, even the interior was damaged, some shards impaling Ryusei, hence him losing consciousness.

Why do none of the other pilots stop Beowulf? Simple, they are dead.

Shards of various other mechs drift around Ryusei, from Arado's Wild Wurger to Bullet and Kusuha's RyuKohoh. Ryusei's own teammate's mechs can be seen also, Aya's R-3, Rai's R-2 , Mai's R-Gun, Viletta's Garbein.

Ryusei already cried for the loss of his family, he would still continue to do if he had the strength, unfortunately, he has no such strength. Not anymore.

"Is this all this world has to offer me as a challenge? Pathetic!" Came the bestial voice of Beowulf, mocking the fallen, savouring his victory. He throws the Alteisen's remains before blasting them with a Chest Beam.

"I expected more from myself…" His tone was condescending, disappointed at the deceased Kyousuke.

Suddenly, he senses the faint life of Ryusei coming from the R-1's wreckage.

"So one survives, how did it feel to watch the deaths of all your comrades… Ryusei?" Ryusei slowly turned to his comm screen to see the distorted being of Beowulf smirking at him.

"Oh, I can tell who you are, Ryusei, I killed you in the other universe as well, your kind are supposed to be psychic, aren't they? How did you not foresee your ends?" That same mocking tone.

Beowulf dashes to the wrecked R-1, towering over it, he violently grabs it with one hand. Ryusei making a grunt of pain at the violent movement, the shards in his chest jerking violently.

"Did it hurt you? Did it make you angry, seeing me slay all your friends like cattle?" He waits for an answer.

"…" Ryusei mumbles something weakly.

"What was that Ryusei? You're going to have to speak up!"

"F…k…u" Ryusei mumbles again, a few syllables hear-able.

"One more time, I almost had it!"

"Fuck you… Monster…" Ryusei's words easy to understand after one more try. Beowulf, instead of being angered, laughs.

"Oh, you have much more balls than My Universe's Ryusei, he screamed in terror during his final moments." He chuckled at that.

"I like you, Ryusei and, because I like you…" He raised the Arm equipped with the Revolver Stake and aims it at the cockpit, crimson blood colouring the tip, a stark contrast to the white.

"I'LL END YOUR SUFFERING, DIE!"

The Stake advances on the cockpit, time slowing down around Ryusei as his tired eyes watch as the stake tears through the metal sheet of the hatch advancing on him.

_Is… is this it…? I worked so fucking hard to become strong enough to protect those closest to me… But it was for nothing…_

The stake makes contact with his skin, tearing through the pilot suit and flesh, immeasurable pain bursting through Ryusei, his mouth lacking the energy to scream in pain.

_If… if I got another chance… I wouldn't fail my family… I would kill this bastard and end this…_

The last ounce of life leaves his body, his eyes finally losing the will to stay open, darkness engulfs his sight…

"Do you really mean that, Ryusei?"

The pain ends, he can feel an intense light through the darkness; his body feels like it is almost floating.

Slowly, he opens his eyes, taking in the sight of a pure white world painfully familiar to him.

_This is… This is where I met…_

"Do you really mean that?" A familiar voice calls.

He turns his head to see a familiar silhouette hovering near him.

"You're… that kid…" Ryusei says.

"Well, that's rude; I'm older than you, you know?" The boy retorts.

"What am I doing here? I… I remember Beowulf and… him killing me…"

"Technically, you did die; this world really does not apply to the normal laws of physics."

"It doesn't matter… all my friends are dead, what's the point anymore?" Ryusei asks, the question intending to be rhetorical.

"How did it happen?" The boy asks again.

"W-what?" Ryusei asks, his voice gaining some of its old energy. And some anger.

"How did they die?"

"That bastard… Beowulf… He killed them, killed them all, how the hell do you think?!" Ryusei's voice becomes aggressive.

"That's odd, there were many of you, how did he defeat you all?"

"I… I don't know…"

"I do." Ryusei's eyes widen at this.

"W-what?"

"You were supposed to be stronger, Ryusei, you were supposed to be pivotal in his defeat, along with Kyousuke, unfortunately, you were too weak, and so everyone died."

"You make it sound like it was my fault they died, you bastard!"

"It was." Ryusei becomes even more pissed off at this simple statement.

"Why you-"

"What if I gave you another chance?" Ryusei slightly calms down at this.

"Another… chance?"

"Yes. A chance to do it all over again. A chance to kill Beowulf."

"How?"

"I believe I can help with that." Another voice calls out, a silhouette appears near the boy, one Ryusei easily recognises.

"I-Ingram…"

"At this moment, I possess the ability to "Time Dive" I can only use it once and I have been… saving it for a special occasion." There is a tone of slight amusement in the last part.

"The occasion being the complete slaughter of my friends?!" Ryusei is pissed at Ingram's relaxed nature.

"Actually, no, to be honest, I have no idea, it just felt like something fun to keep."

"And what do you mean Time Dive?"

"Have you not figured it out yet, Ryusei?" Ryusei shakes his head. "Still as head-strong as ever, I see, but having the common sense of a rock."

"Cut to the chase, Ingram." Ryusei commands, his voice laced with irritation.

"Still not forgiven me yet?"

"For betraying us and breaking Aya's heart? No, I haven't."

"You do know I wasn't exactly myself, right?"

"Doesn't matter, I didn't really like you before that, now what is Time Dive?"

"Fine, I'll explain it in simple ways, Time Dive is the ability to send an individual, free of charge, back to a certain point in time."

"And what's the downside?"

"You're just going to accept my words that easily?"

"Ingram, I have seen space aliens, alternate realities, robotic animal gods and a ton of other shit, Time Travel is not that surprising for me." Ryusei explains

"Good point, Ryusei." The boy says.

"Anyway, the downside is, once you're there, there is no more jumping, I send you to a point and you have to live out ALL the experiences , even the bad ones. You won't have the luxury to jump back and forth to see the fruits of your labour." Ryusei nods at this.

"Simple enough."

"Now that that is settled, where do you want to go?"

"To the beginning."

"The beginning?"

"Yes."

"By beginning, you mean…?"

"Right before the Burning PT tournament."

"Are you sure Ryusei? You suffered a lot of hardship at the beginning of it, wouldn't it be better to just skip it over to the latest possible opportunity? Besides that is lot of months of your life to relive." Ingram tries to gauge his reasoning.

"That's exactly why."

"Excuse me?"

"All those hardships I suffered, that my friends suffered, Ouka's death, The Captain's death, breaking Aya's heart…" He points at Ingram accusingly at that "… I want to prevent as many as I can. To do that, I must go back to the beginning." Ryusei explains himself.

"How admirable, Ryusei, just like you…" Ryusei frowns at this, "Very well, the beginning it is…"

He raises one of his hands and turns makes a shape like he is about to snap his fingers.

"Oh… some pieces of advice." The boy said.

"What?"

"First, don't reveal that you are from the future, it can… complicate things."

"Second, you will keep your current abilities, however your body will age back to it's younger state."

"Third, when you meet Ingram, remember that THAT Ingram will not know you, so try and control your grudge."

"And don't hate me too much when I double cross you." Ingram chirped in.

"I'll try." Ryusei says dryly

"Finally, and most importantly, remember that any changes you make will have consequences, this timeline will be affected by the choices you make." Ryusei nods at all these.

"Don't tell anyone, I'll still be myself, hide my grudge and think about consequences, got it."

"Well, in that case…" Ingram snaps his fingers "See you soon, Ryusei."

At that moment, an intense light engulfs Ryusei, excitement filling him to meet his friends and right wrongs.

As well as killing that bastard Beowulf…

* * *

_**And so ends my pilot chapter for my Super Robot Wars fic.**_

_**If any of you are die-hard Super Robot Wars gamers and I am completely off course about stuff, know that I have only watched the anime, and that is all my knowledge comes from. I don't even know the boy's name. So don't be asking "Oh, this didn't happen in the game" Or "Where is this unit?" Speaking of units, I know one or two that didn't appear in the anime that will appear in this.**_

_**If Ryusei was too sombre, it is because I feel that Ryusei gets all of his drive from his friends, with them all dead, he just felt… empty. Don't worry, he will be happy and his usual self when surrounded by them again.**_

_**Some of you may be worried about an OP Ryusei, don't worry, remember them Consequences? yeah, you will see what I mean.**_

_**Anyway, plans for this:**_

_**1) As stated, Ryusei will make changes in this universe, these changes coming with consequences.**_

_**2) Ryuesi will be much more passionate towards his friends, while I will not give any spoilers I will just say that, if you thought Ryusei losts his shit with Ingram the first time, just wait. He will also be much more easily angered, especially when he encounters the Einst.**_

_**3) The R-1 will get an upgrade, but it is miles down the line, like near the end of series two miles, however I will try and mix it up by sticking him in different mechs. It won't be Powered though, I already have in my head what I want that to be.**_

_**4)Like the original, Mai and Latooni will still like him, however I have a little list in my head for some… additions, they are:**_

_**Definite**_

_**1) Aya (Always liked the idea of Aya falling for Ryusei after being jilted by Ingram, what can I say? I really like how well the two get along in the series.)  
2) Viletta (I just like mature, older women and I think that would be a nice dynamic, that and Viletta is my favourite Super Robot Wars girl, plus wouldn't it be epic if Ryusei was able to charm all three of the SRX Team Girls?)**_

_**Maybe**_

_**1) Ouka (Could possibly tie in with the whole Consequence thing.)  
2) Lamia (Why the hell not? Have no idea how to make it work, but if you really want it, I will give it serious thought.)**_

_**The maybes I am benched about, why don't you all give me your opinions on them? Any other suggestions will have to be:**_

_**A) A girl without an established love interest. For example, Kusuha is a no, yes she did have a crush on him, but her getting with Bullet is integral to their plots.**_

_**B)Appears in the anime or I will have no clue who you are talking about.**_


	2. Chapter 2: Another Begins

_**Hello everyone, R-0 here with the next chapter of my fanfic, I am sorry for the delay of this chapter, but my laptop went completely FUBAR, so I am borrowing my Mothers's, that's what I get for not regularly wiping my RAM.I get a complete system crash.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Super Robot Wars and its Respective Characters.**_

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Chapter 2: Another Begins

"Ryusei-Kun...? Ryusei-Kun...?" A voice calls out to Ryusei, who currently feels disorientated, unable to fully comprehend who is talking to him.

He stirs, lightly opening his eyes, still not fully conscious, seeing only blurrs, however, he has enough sense to know, from the sounds, that he is on a train.

_Where… where am I? I remember… that kid and Ingram and…_

"Ryusei-Kun, are you alright?" A concerned voice calls out to him, the voice becoming more familiar to Ryusei.

Eventually, his sight stops being blurred, Ryusei finally recognising that he is sat on one of the side seats located on the train. Turning his head towards the direction of the voice, he sees the face of his childhood friend Kusuha Mizuha.

Filled with a sudden joy at seeing his friend who just died in front of him, Ryusei, without thinking, lunges forward and tightly hugs Kusuha.

"Kusuha!" He cries out, his actions turning a few heads, as well as surprising Kusuha herself.

"R-Ryusei-Kun, w-what are you doing?!" She stammers out embarrassment clear in her tone.

"You're alive…" Ryusei says. Kusuha's eyes widen questioningly at this.

"I'm alive, what do you mean?" She asks.

Suddenly, Ryusei realises what he is doing and backs off, sitting back, he rubs the back of his hands embarrassingly.

"Sorry, I don't know what came over me." He apologises.

"It's fine." She accepts his apology "What did you mean by alive?" She asks again.

_Oh crap… think of something, Ryusei…!_

"Er… I just dozed off for a few seconds, ended up having a split-second nightmare, you know the ones."

_As if she'll believe that, Ryusei!_

"Well, that's good Ryusei-Kun, that explains why you weren't responding to me for a few seconds, right?"

If Ryusei wasn't so relieved she bought it, he would have face-palmed at her air-headedness.

_But still… I am so happy that she's alive, guess Ingram wasn't kidding around… figures…_

"Yeah, Kusuha, I just dozed off for a few seconds, sorry about that." He aplogises. "What were we talking about again?"

"You were telling me about some guy named Tenzan Nakijima, apparently, he's pretty famous." If Kusuha was paying attention, she may have noticed how his eyebrows narrowed a little bit at the mention of Tenzan.

_Oh yeah, HIM…_

While, originally, Ryusei greatly respected Tenzan for his skill and reputation as an excellent gamer. Meeting the real him, seeing how corrupted he became has left the PsychoDriver with nothing but loathing for the man.

An idea crosses through his head, something that may perhaps stop Tenzan from being a threat in the future while finally putting him in his place.

_Now that I have been sent back, I will try to fix things or change something for the better, Tenzan, you are my first step towards that!_

"Ryusei-Kun? Are you okay?"

"H-huh…?"

"Well, you just did that thing again."

"Oh sorry, just thinking about the tournament, how it would be real lucky if I have gotten this far and win the fight against Tenzan, you know?"

She gives him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Ryusei-Kun, I know you will do great!"

He chuckles a little at her encouraging words, "Yeah, thanks Kusuha." He gives a smile back, "by the way, how are things going with you?" Ryusei asks, wanting to keep the happiness he is feeling with talking to her, trying to re-fill the emptiness he felt watching all of his friends die while helpless to stop it.

"Huh, do you really want to talk about that sort of thing? Shouldn't you be preparing yourself?" She asks.

"Nah, it's fine, it will help me take my mind off of it anyway." He reasons.

"Oh well, in that case…" Kusuha began to talk about her life, from schoolwork, to her education and even any new friends she's made.

All the while Ryusei sits there, happy that he has this second chance.

_I won't let it happen again, not this time!_

* * *

**Scene Change, The Final Fight**

"It's the time you have all been waiting for, ladies and gentlemen, the final round of the Burning PT Tournament!" The announcer says, the crowd cheering at his words.

"The finalists are…"

"To my right, Tenzan Nakajima!" A storm of boos cover the stage, said boos never making much sense to the PsychoDriver.

At least, that was until he met the real Tenzan.

Ryusei stands there, trying his best to control the rage he feels towards the man in front of him, his rational thought the only thing keeping him calm.

_If you beat him, Ryusei, then DC may not scout him, that would save everyone a world of trouble._

"And to my left, we have Ryusei Date!" Ryusei gives and enthusiastic wave to the audience, putting a cheerful smile on.

This greatly pleases the crowd as they give him a happy cheer.

"May the best pilot win, Tenzan Nakajima." Is all Ryusei says to him, feeling very itchy to fight Tenzan.

Tenzan, of course, just gives a little "hmph" and walks to his VR Pod. Ryusei feels great anger at his arrogance, but suppresses it. He makes his own way to the other pod.

"Good Luck, Ryusei-Kun!" Kusuha offers some last words of encouragement for Ryusei.

Once inside he uploads the data for his Burning PT Mech, the Komet SS, the familiar blue, white and red Mech materialising on the Arena Display Unit.

_Komet SS, I haven't used this guy in a while, what did this thing have again? A Machine Gun and a Beam Saber?… Damn…_

After fighting for so long in the R-1, Ryusei was used to its weapons and fighting style. It isn't surprising that it will take hima while to get back into the swing of it.

On the opposite side of the arena, Tenzan deploys his own Personal Trooper, the yellow-coloured Ocherous-Ausfuhrun.

During the countdown stage, Ryusei is deep in thought about how to tackle his opponent…

_Think Ryusei, what has all of those months of fighting taught you? How to think!_

_His mech may look big and slow, but Tenzan makes it move ridiculously fast, somehow I am going to have to take pot-shots, not just charge at him and give him an opening!_

_From what I remember, Tenzan taunted me into attacking him; taking advantage of my reckless nature, let's see how he likes his own medicine!_

"Let the final match begin!"

Instead of boosting forward like last time, Ryusei dashes backwards, surprising everyone, including Tenzan.

"Oh, looks like this kid's smarter than he looks." Tenzan mutters.

Ryusei eventually jumps sideways behind a large rock-face.

_Now… the waiting begins._

It is a tense moment, Ryusei's Komet doesn't move from behind the rock-face. Disappointed murmurs can be heard from among the crowd, clearly they expected more action.

Tenzan, equally one of these people, calls out to Ryusei.

"Oi, what are you doing? Get out and fight me!"

"I will, I just can't be bothered. Go on, finish your snack." Ryusei replies smugly.

"You-You little punk." That statement pisses of Tenzan.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

"Major Ingram, what is that boy doing?" Aya asks. "Is he hiding from his opponent?"

Ingram shakes his head. "No, Aya, what I think he's doing is more ingenious than that."

"W-what do you mean?"

"Hm, you'll see."

_How intriguing… he's using tactical knowledge, but his records show no military history, so how?_

* * *

**Back to the fight…**

Tenzan has just finished his meal and his mech come to life, dashing towards the rock-face.

"Have you finally finished your snack?" Ryusei asks, his tone mocking.

"You bastard, I ain't gonna let you just mock me!" Tenzan yells. He raises his Arm Cannon and fires.

Finally.

The shell connects with the Rock face and explodes, a large cloud conjures and Tenzan hovers there, waiting for his proof of victory.

When the smoke clears, The Komet is nowhere to be seen. Tenzan, in all his arrogance, assumes victory.

"Heh, take that! Trying to mock ME, Tenzan Nakajima!" His tone is arrogant and prideful.

Suddenly, a burst of bullets comes from the right. Tenzan manages to react in time and evade, his cockpit and head unit safe, however the bullets manage to hit the Right Arm Cannon, tearing the artificial metal into pieces, the arm unit explodes.

"W-what the hell?!" Tenzan screams, sheer surprise colouring his tone.

The radar suddenly recognises the enemy unit to his right, turning, he sees that it was indeed the Komet SS that had shot him, the Machine Gun barrel still smoking from the recent burst.

"Hehe, got you." Ryusei mutters, a satisfied smirk on his face.

"How did he hit me? How did he get over there without me noticing?!" Tenzan yells, unable to comprehend that he was just outmanoeuvred.

* * *

**Back with Ingram and Aya**

"Sir, is that what you meant?" Aya directs her question

He casually nods. "Indeed it is, Aya."

"If you don't mind me asking, what did he do exactly?"

"He coaxed his opponent into attacking him, then he moved from his position at the moment before the shell connected, avoiding the shot. Doing this allowed him to use the explosion as a smokescreen." He explains. "During the confusion, he took a shot at his opponent."

"Wow, he doesn't look like the strategic type." Aya says.

"I think it is more of a case of he developed a strategy for THIS particular opponent. It certainly seems like he has fought him before."

"But they haven't even met, Major." Aya explains.

"Maybe, maybe not. Either way, continue to monitor the boy."

"H-hai!"

* * *

**Back to the fight…**

Ryusei decides to go on the offensive and charges at Tenzan, letting of controlled bursts of machine gun fire.

Tenzan easily dodges the shots and returns with shots with his remaining Arm Cannon. Ryusei equally dodging his shots.

Tenzan is becoming increasingly irritated, his shots losing accuracy and becoming more sporadic, some even hitting the ground.

They both continue to strafe in a circle, both Personal Troopers letting off continuous shots at each other, a dance of shells and bullets.

Unfortunately, Ryusei is the first to give as his Machine Gun runs out of ammo.

Dropping the weapon, Ryusei pulls out his Beam Sabre and charges at Tenzan who, seeing an opportunity, stops moving and hovers.

_Come on, take the bait Ryusei Date!_

Ryusei continues to charge at Tenzan, without hesitation, eventually reaching danger close.

"You're mine, Tenzan!" Ryusei goes to strike the enemy PT, however Tenzan dodges to his right and aims his cannon at the Komet.

Tenzan lets out a howl of laughter "Gotcha!"

He shoots the shell at a close enough distance where dodging is impossible. The shell comes into contact with the Komet's armour and an explosion is noticeable. Tenzan continues to laugh at his apparent victory, taking his hands off of the controls and assumes victory.

All of a sudden, however, the Komet comes dashing out of the explosion, missing an arm and the left side of the Body Armour severely damaged. The Beam Sabre still grasped in the other hand.

Ryusei Swipes downwards towards the Ocherous. Tenzan having no time to counter as the energy blade comes into contact with the Arm Cannon, slicing it off. But the Sabre keeps going and moves downwards and slices one of the legs off.

Without both of its arms and a leg, The Ocherous collapses onto the ground, a defeated heap. Tenzan, however refuses defeat.

"Come on, you piece of Shit! Move!" He yells at the cockpit, frantically trying to do something.

The Ocherous manages to activate the boosters on its other leg and tries to reverse, however Ryusei gives no quarter and slices off the other leg, leaving the Ocherous helpless as it lies there helpless. A simple head and Torso now.

"Oh no… NO!… no,no,no,no,no… I can't lose!" Tenzan now starts to severely panic as he is helpless, his machine staring helplessly up at the Komet.

Meanwhile, Ryusei is feeling great joy at watching Tenzan squirm, seeing his Ocherous try to move even an inch unsuccessfully. He feels tempted to watch this for ages and not let it end.

"It doesn't feel good, does it Tenzan?" He asks.

"What…?" In between his panicking, Tenzan manages to reply.

"To be helpless as an opponent dominates you and rubs it in your face, make you feel inferior." Ryusei explains. "That's what you wanted to do to me, isn't it?"

"Why you…! I'll make you pay!"

"Do you know why you lost? You underestimated me, you didn't go all out from the start, if you had, I would have lost easily. Instead you wanted to humiliate me, now look at you." His tone is arrogant, mocking.

"Oh well, let's end this."

Ryusei manoeuvres his Komit directly in front of the Ocherous' head.

In a touch of irony, Ryusei plants the Komet's foot onto the face of the Ocherous. Pressing down hard onto the head, the foot crushes the head into complete scrap.

Feel what I felt, Tenzan!

"I win, you lose, Tenzan Nakajima." Ryusei says this as the words YOU LOSE appear on Tenzan's display.

Tenzan is unable to bear the shame anymore as he dashes out of the Pod and makes his way for the exit.

_I'll get you for this humiliation, Ryusei Date!_

Letting go of his own controls, Ryusei takes a breath for a second.

_I think I went a little overboard…Oh, who cares?! It's not like he didn't deserve it or anything. Who knows, it may change him for the better?_

Hopefully, The DC won't try and recruit him now…

Broken from his thoughts, Ryusei gets out of his Pod and waves to the audience, who cheer for him.

"And the winner is… Ryusei Date!"

Ryusei feels great pride at that.

_So this is what it felt like…_

* * *

**Later…**

Ryusei has just met up with Kusuha, after being given the prize money, who seems to have a very saddened look on her face.

"Hey, Kusuha, did you see that? I WON!" He happily yells, his good mood apparent.

"Yeah, that's great Ryusei-Kun…" Her voice is obviously depressed. Something hich Ryusei picks up on.

"Oi, what's wrong?"

"It's just… you scared me Ryusei-Kun." Ryusei's eyes widened.

"W-what do you mean?"

"What you did… to that Tenzan person, that was cruel!"

"Kusuha, believe me when I say that I hated doing it, but you don't understand what Tenzan is like, he would have done it to me if I let him!"

"So that makes it right?!" Kusuha asks.

"… No, it doesn't makes it right…" Ryusei says "How about I promise to not do it again? Believe me when I say Kusuha that Tenzan deserved what he got."

"I'll accept that, Ryusei-Kun, but if I see you ever do it again, I won't forgive you!" Ryusei can't tell if she is serious or half-joking.

"Of course, Kusuha."

* * *

**Back with Ingram and Aya**

"Aya… let's pick up Mr. Date once he leaves the building." Aya gives Ingram a little smile.

"Was it an easy choice, Major? He did win, after all." Aya asks.

"No, that isn't the reason I chose him." Aya gives Ingram a quizzical look.

"Then why…?"

"Because Ryusei showed a determination to win, I felt a drive from him, some inner strength that I think the Team needs. That, and I just have a good feeling about him."

"To be honest sir, I am glad that you picked Ryusei, he seems like a nice person, much better than the alternative." Ingram can see she is alluding to Tenzan.

**BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!**

"Unknowns detected in the air-space. Forces sent to intercept!" Came one of the other Operators.

* * *

**Back to Ryusei and Kusuha**

Any moment now…

What Ryusei is waiting for happens in the next second as an earthquake resounds through the Stadium. He manages to to keep his balance while Kusuha falls onto the ground.

"Are you alright, Kusuha?"

"Yeah… I'm fine, what do you think that was?" Kusuha asks.

"I don't know" he lies, suddenly he has an idea. "Listen, Kusuha, I am going to check it out, can you leave and find some cop or something?"

"Huh, but Ryusei-Kun…" He Interrupts her by slamming his hands down on her shoulders.

"Please?" His voice is pleading, begging even.

Kusuha can't seem to argue and so:

"Alright…" She runs off and escapes from the DangerZone.

_Good, this time I stopped her getting hurt…_

He runs into the stadium and sees the Insect-like Megillot rise from the crater.

"It's been a while since I have seen one of you, you bastards!" he yells at it, this seems to get its attention as it turns towards his general direction, as if looking at him.

Knowing what is coming next, he dives back out into the corridor. The Sonic Blast impacting against the wall, causing rubble to collapse all around him.

Disorientated, he staggers back up and groans.

"Was it this painful before?!" He asks, seemingly to himself.

_At least Kusuha didn't get hurt this time…_

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

"Aya, send out the Type-TT." Ingram commands.

"Sir, are you sure? A game and real combat are very different from one another." Aya protests.

"Exactly, let's see how good he TRULY is, Gespensts can always be replaced."

"B-but sir-"

"Are you going to go against me, Aya?" Ingram asked, already knowing the answer.

Aya hesitates for a few seconds before…

"Y-Yes sir… Sending out the Type TT." She goes back to work.

_Now… show me how good you truly are, Ryusei Date!_

* * *

**Back to Ryusei**

He already heads outside in anticipation for the arriving Gespenst, so when it arrives he doesn't waste anytime.

He rides the Elevator to the cockpit, pops the hatch and dives into the cockpit.

"Luckily, I still remember how this thing handles!" Ryusei mutters to himself.

Suddenly, the Megillot appears in front of him, entering an aggressive stance.

"There you are, you bastard!" He smirks and grabs the controls.

"Alright, let's do it, Gespenst!"

* * *

_**And so ends the second chapter.**_

_**Some of you may be confused why I had Ryusei beat Tenzan, trust me when I say that it will come back to bite him on the Ass.**_

_**I am afraid that there may be some Bullet Bashing. I don't like Bullet at all. He is very boring and I just get so pissed when he gets all this attention as some Super PsychoDriver when there are plenty infinitely better than him. I mean, he needs to have a Robot God Mech to do anything!**_

_**Good news, I just ordered a Game Boy Advance and OG 1, so I may get some added trivia for the fanfic, however it will still follow the Anime's plot. **_

_**By the way, Merry Christmas!**_

_**R-0 Out!**_


	3. Chapter 3: The Second First Engagement

_**Hello everyone, R-0 here and welcoming you to the next chapter of my FanFic. Please read the Author Notes at the end.**_

_**I do not own Super Robot Wars and its respective characters. If I did, The SRX Team would get much more credit in the newest games.**_

* * *

Chapter 3: The Second First Engagement

"This time, I'm first!" Ryusei yells at the Megillot.

Wasting no more time, Ryusei hits the accelerator and charges at the Megillot, The Gespenst's boosters roaring into life as it charges at the creature, its shoulder pad at the forefront of his attacks. The creature has no chance to react as he rams into the creature shoulder-first, stunning the Megillot.

"How was that?!" Ryusei shouts, his tone cocky and mocking. An arrogant smile graces his features.

Using this moment, he grabs the head of the Megillot with one of the Gespenst's hands, the metallic alien squirming in his grip, trying to escape. Ryusei's grip, however, is too strong.

"Eat this!"

Wasting no more time, he quickly drives the other hand through the Megillot's chest area, ripping through the metal and out through the other side. The Megillot squirms violently for a few more seconds before stopping, its body hanging there limply, its eyes losing their brightness and turning dull.

The Gespenst retracts its arm out of the creature and drops it to the floor, the creature making a loud **THUD!** as it hits the ground.

"That was way too easy!" Ryusei yells out loud, he gives a gesture to show his cockiness. He is clearly satisfied that he was able to beat the bug so easily.

_I really am better than I was back then!_

* * *

**Meanwhile, in the PT Carrier…**

Aya is visibly surprised, this rookie pilot has managed to take down a Megillot in record time.

Well, if there is a record for disabling a Megillot with a Gespenst's bare hands.

"W-wow… He really did it, he beat the Bug without any real effort." She says. Ingram isn't surprised at her shock. Aya hasn't even fought a Bug herself yet, only ever in simulators.

Ingram smirks a little at the outcome of the very brief fight.

"Very impressive, if I didn't know better, I would say that Ryusei has experience fighting the Bugs and operating a Gespenst."

_It seems I wasn't wrong, Ryusei Date will indeed be a fine addition to Project SRX. He may even be worth recommending to Levi Tolar, when I can. She is always on the lookout for new, potential samples. But for now…_

"Aya, what is the condition of the Sample?" Ingram asks Aya, she checks the status screen to confirm.

"His Adrenaline levels and heart rate are high, his mental state is relaxed." Ingram smirks approvingly at this.

"Excellent."

"However…" Aya starts. Ingram raises an eyebrow.

"What is it, Aya?" He asks.

"There has been no particular spike in his PsychoDriver brainwaves." If Ingram was surprised, he hid it well with just a little raise of his eyebrow.

"Do you mean that he didn't need to rely on the T-LINK System to defeat the bug?" Ingram enquires.

Aya merely nods her head in confirmation.

"Aya, you have just eliminated any reservation I had for recruiting the boy." He Stated. "I am going out there to collect him. Make sure that the Bug and the Gespenst are properly secured."

_I am DEFINITELY going to have to recommend him to Levi Tolar…_

Aya gives him a quizzical look.

"The bug as well, sir? Why?" She asks.

"It will be worth researching the Bug and it's systems. Robert has been wanting to study one for a while, particularly its propulsion systems."

_It may be useful in the future._

Ingram is broken out of his thoughts when the Radar Operator calls out to him.

"More Bugs are incoming on Sample No.55's Position! Eight in total!" She informs him.

"Are there any PT squads or Aircraft in the area?" She shakes her head.

"No sir! He's the only friendly out there at the moment!" She informs Ingram.

"We need to hurry…" Ingram starts, "Aya, call the boy and have him retreat, we will have to leave the Bug."

"Y-yes sir!"

While Aya is busy getting into contact with Ryusei, Ingram has another brainwave.

_Strange… A part of me hopes that the Bugs intercepts him. I guess I want to see what he really is capable of._

* * *

**Back on the battlefield…**

Ryusei moves away from the Megillot's corpse and walks the Gespenst over to the dock area, looking out towards the ocean. He can see a battle play out in front of him.

_I wonder when Major Kai and his squad are going to turn up?_

"You idiot, hurry and retreat!" A familiar female voice calls through the Intercom, Ryusei flinches at the aggressiveness of it.

_Aya… it's really good to hear your voice, I still need to keep up my act though._

"W-what? Who the hell are you?!" He retorts.

"That doesn't matter right now," She responds, "listen, you need to hurry and retreat before-"

Ryusei has no chance as the Gespenst's radar bursts into life and lets out a warning, informing Ryusei that there are more Megillots incoming.

Before he has a chance (Not that he would've) to make a retreat, Eight Megillots land and surround him.

_They're early. Then again, I guess killing their friend probably alerted them._

"Listen, don't engage the Bugs!" Aya warns him, "You may have defeated one, but there are eight of them. They like to swarm a single opponent!" She explains.

"Believe me, if I could retreat, I would!" Ryusei replies, before giving a cocky smile. "My only option is to push through them!"

Employing the same tactic as before, he quickly dashes towards and rams into one of the bugs. This time, however, he grabs the Megillot's head while it is stunned and rips it off, the headless body dropping to the ground.

The other aliens charge, hoping to pile on him. Ryusei quickly dashes backward and they all pass over him, save for two which are able to stay on course for him. In that moment, he quickly rips off one of the pincer-like ornament off the Megillot's head and runs it throught the head of the charging Megillot, the electricity surges through the impaled machine as it explodes.

The other one is equally unlucky as it passes too low, allowing for Ryusei to jump over it and stamp it on the head, causing it to equally explode.

_Five Left!_

Two of the other Megillots attempt a Pincer Manoeuver on him and attack him from both sides, one charging its Ring Laser and the other attempting to pin him from the other side.

Seeing a chance, Ryusei boosts upwards, causing the Ring Laser to hit the other Megillot, destroying it outright.

_Four More!_

White boosting in mid-air, the three other Megillots attempt to attack him. They charge at him at the hopes of piling on him and forcing him back on the ground.

"That won't work!" He yells. He activates the T-Link System, the too back flaps on the Gespenst opening. The Monitor pops up the weapon name.

"T-LINK RIPPER!" He commands, the two green, saw-like energy discs fly out of the Gespenst and veer towards the Megillots.

Both are successful in coming into contact with two Megillots, easily sawing the metallic creatures in half.

Unfortunately, there is still another Megillot which succeeds in ramming into him, causing both him and the Megillot to go veering back towards the ground.

"Argh!" He grunts.

They both eventually smash into the ground, the violent impact causing Ryusei to cough up blood.

The Megillot pins him to the ground as the other remaining Megillot joins the fray and starts attacking the Gespenst's left arm arm, successfully ripping it off.

Ryusei has had enough.

"Get off me!" He roars and hits the Gespenst's boosters, causing the machine to veer upwards at an awkward angle, the one Megillot that was pinning him now holding for dear life.

Ryusei uses the Megillot holding onto him to his advantage as, while in mid-air, his suddenly flips the Gespenst over so it is facing back towards the ground.

He then re-engages the boosters and charges back towards the ground with the Megillot latched onto his chest. Realising what he is trying to do, the Megillot tries to squirm free, but Ryusei uses his remaining, free arm and hugs it too him. The Megillot still squirming for dear life.

He keeps charging back down towards the ground until reaching a dangerous range. He then let's go off the Megillot and the momentum sends it careening towards the ground. It has no chance to re-engage its propulsion system and fly away and so it crashes into the ground.

The impact seems to have been strong enough to disable the Megillot as it lies there, unmoving.

Ryusei lands on the ground and gives a taunting point.

"Take that, you bastard!"

_Now there was one more, where is it…? OH SHIT!_

Ryusei has no time to react as a Ring Laser connects with the Gespenst's boosters as well as the T-Link Ripper Dispenser, causing them to both explode.

The last Megillot lands in front of the heavily damaged Gespenst, as if taunting him.

"You bastard!" Ryusei grinds through his teeth.

The Megillot then charges at Ryusei, to which he returns the favour by running towards it, his remaining shoulder at the front.

They both clash and neither is unmoving, the Megillot continues to boost while Ryusei's Gespenst digs its feet into the ground, preventing him from being pulled back.

The Megillot tries to use the close proximity to its advantage and tries to fire it Ring Laser at Point-Blank range. Ryusei does not give it a chance and headbutts the creature, causing it to be stunned.

Ryusei takes advantage of the creatures lapse in concentration and punches the creature into the ground. He then repeatedly stomps on the creature with the Gepsenst's foot.

"Why You! Why You!" He yells repeatedly, the adrenaline going to his head and repeatedly assaults the creature like a savage until the Megillot is nothing more than a pile of scrap.

Ryusei eventually ceases his actions and let's go of the controls, his breathing ragged, the exhaustion from the fight obvious. His clothes even show his condition, covered in blood and drenched in sweat.

He just sits there for a few more seconds trying to regain his breath.

_That was harder… than I thought it would be… The Gespenst feels real slow, I guess I am just used to the high reaction time of the R-1..._

_I am definitely going to have to get used to this Gespenst again. Well, that is at least until I get access to the R-1, hell, I'd even take the WildRaubitier over this Sluggish Gespenst._

* * *

**Meanwhile, in the PT Carrier…**

The whole crew in the vehicle are watching the fight with open shock, long abandoning their actual duties to observe the fight before them.

"H-he… actually beat the Bugs alone…" Aya says, her voice laced with shock.

"Yes, and in an unarmed Gespenst, no less." One of the operators said.

"How cool!" Another one of the Crew Members said.

Ingram was even more impressed with Ryusei's abilities, sure, he may have heavily damaged the Gespenst, but it was a worth sacrifice to get a proper gauge of his abilities.

That, and he has given them plenty more Megillots to dissect and research.

_This is going to spread around the ranks like wild-fire…a rookie Pilot who destroyed a squadron of Bugs with an unarmed Gespenst._

_Though Levi will definitely want me to keep an eye on him now… _

"Though there is something strange, Major…" Aya begins to say, before Ingram raises a quizzical eyebrow at her.

"What's that, Aya?" He asks.

"He used the T-Link System without any real issue, what's more, his PsychoDriver readings were ridiculously high for someone who has never used the T-Link System."

"I guess he has more potential then we initially thought," he says, "Aya, get into contact with the local authorities and have them cordon off the area, send a team to properly secure the Gespenst and Megillot remains. I am going out there to personally secure Ryusei Date." He begins to walk out of the carrier when the Radar Operator calls him again.

"Sir, some Gespensts are inbound on Sample No.55's, according to their IFF, they're Major Kai's squad!"

_Well, looks like I will have to deal with this before I go secure Ryusei Date._

* * *

**Back on the battlefield…**

A familiar green Gespenst is coming to Ryusei, already in range for him and his scanners, Ryusei prepares what he is going to say.

"All units, fan out and secure the area!" Kai commands his squad.

"But sir…" One Generic Pilot starts.

"What is it?!"

"There are no enemies on our radar, only a lone Gespenst signal!"

_Just one Gespenst?_

"All units, secure the area, I will investigate this!"

"Yes, Sir!"

Kai manoeuvres his Gespenst towards the signal, eventually coming into visual view, he instantly recognises the Gespesnt.

"That Gespenst is involved with Project SRX, what's it doing here?" He thinks out loud. He tries to confirm the identity of the pilot, but to no avail.

"He's not in the Pilot Database? Who is this?" He jumps his Gespenst onto the dock area where it is located and surveys the area.

He is visibly surprised to see several disabled Megillots around the Gespenst, which itself is heavily damaged.

What surprises him further is that the evidence seems to indicate that there was indeed only THIS Gespenst during the fight.

Wanting some answers, he aims his M95 Machine Gun at the Unknown Gespenst and opens his comm-link.

"Who are you? What happened here?" He asks.

To his surprised the Video comm pops up a Teenaged Boy on his screen, visibly hurt due to the bloodied shirt.

_He's just a boy… Is he a civilian?_

"Answer my questions!" He demands.

Ryusei thinks that, this time, it's worth giving him an explaination.

"W-wait, my name is Ryusei Date. I was the winning participant at the Burning PT tournament. I was in the area when the first Bug crashed and started to blow shit up!" He explains.

"How did you acquire the Gespenst?" he still doesn't lower his weapon.

"For some reason, it was in a nearby trailer. Because the bug was chasing me, I decided to use it to defend myself."

"So you admit to commandeering this Military Weapon for your own use?"

"Y-yes…"

"What happened next?"

"I fought the bug and managed to take it down."

"You only mention A bug, what about these others?"

"They turned up after I beat down the first one."

"And you expect me to believe that you took down a small platoon of Bugs alone?" Kai's tone is disbelieving.

"Believe it or not, that's how it happened!" He retorts, he opens the cockpit hatch and stands in the entranceway with his hands up. "If you don't believe me, then just shoot me!"

If Kai wasn't holding Ryusei at gunpoint, he would've complimented him.

_The kid's got balls. He seems to be telling the truth, what reason would he have to lie? All the evidence here supports his words ._

He lowers the Machine-Gun, to which Ryusei relaxes.

"No, I won't kill you." He starts to say to Ryusei, "However, as a soldier, I must arrest you for the usage of The Personal Trooper. Keep your hands up while I contact the proper authorities.

Suddenly, a familiar voice calls through Kai's private Intercom.

"That won't be necessary, Major." Kai's eyes widen at the familiar voice.

"Ingram? It's been a while."

"Indeed it has, old friend. You can leave the boy alone, he was acting under my permission."

"Why are you letting a civilian operate a Gespenst?" He inquires "What are you up to?"

"Unfortunately, that is classified. Do not worry I will deal with this."

"So be it." He turns his attention back to Ryusei.

"Consider yourself lucky, boy, it seems that you will not arrested today."

And with that, he leaves and rejoins his squad. They get reports of Bugs in other areas and decide to investigate.

Ryusei breathes a sigh of relief.

"Phew! That was close!" He decides to disembark from the Gespenst and uses the Wire Elevator to descend to the ground. When he does, he lies down and rests his back against one of the Gespenst's legs.

He decides to take a few minutes rest while waiting for a certain someone to arrive.

* * *

**A few minutes later...**

_Well… I wonder when Ingram is going to-_

"Mr Ryusei Date?" A familiar voice calls his name.

_Ah, speak of the literal Devil!_

Ryusei lifts his head up and takes in the familiar face of one Ingram Plisken, coupled with two armed soldiers.

"I was wondering if we could have a conversation somewhere?" He asks.

"Who're you?" Ryusei asks.

"Major Ingram Plisken, I am with the military and…" he gives a signalling knock on the Gespenst's armour, "…in charge of this Gespenst."

"I am guessing that, because of your two buddies there, I don't have a choice in this, do I?"

"If you want, I could arrest you for the unauthorised usage of this Personal Trooper, would you prefer to have an arrest on your permanent record?" Ryusei flinches at this.

_I forgot how arrogant he was…_

"What do you need me to talk to me about, exactly?"

"It's regarding those… Hostiles you just faced, as you can imagine, the public are not supposed to know about them." Ingram explains.

"So why tell me? Why not just shut me up about it?" Ryusei asks.

"Let's just say that you have given me some incentive to properly fill in the blanks for you."

"And you're not arresting me? You're just going to explain a few things to me and NOT throw me in a cell?" Ryusei continues his act of being completely unaware what's going on.

"Of course, I only have the intention to discuss what you have witnessed and experienced today with you. Also, if it is possible, I have an offer I would like to make you if you are interested." Ryusei gives him a quizzical look.

"What kind of offer?" He asks.

"I will only tell you that after our conversation." Ingram responds.

Ryusei gives a little sigh and sits there for a few seconds, pretending that he is thinking about it.

Eventually, he gets up and nods towards Ingram.

"Fine, let's go." Ingram gives a satisfied smile.

"Excellent."

* * *

_**And so ends my next chapter.**_

_**I am sorry for the minor delay; I got the Game Boy Advance as well as a copy of Super Robot Wars Original Generation and have been playing it for a while, really enjoying it!**_

_**So yeah, there was the next chapter, Ryusei took down those Megillots and now has a little Prestige to himself. How was the fight scene for you?**_

_**I feel inclined to go over something that some people mentioned in the reviews, the whole Bullet Bashing thing. I didn't mean bashing in the sense of I have him get his ass repeatedly kicked or seems really lame. I meant that you may not see much of him or he is portrayed in a slightly less generous way than what the anime did for him, because the anime gave him WAY too much freaking credit, in my opinion (I mean in the Inspector, of course).**_

_**I do also feel inclined to re-assert that the whole Harem thing will only really start in the Second Series, which will be its own FanFiction. One person has voiced their concern over my intentions with that. Please do not worry, it will not be the focal point, it will act as a driving force for certain events that will get mixed up.**_

_**On another note, I am thinking about doing an intermission fanfic. This is about the sort of things Ryusei will get up to between the events of Series One and Two. Would you, the audience, like this? There is also the possibility of doing a FanFic based AFTER OG 2. This equally depends on whether or not that you, the audience, would like to see this.**_

_**Also, I have decided to add Ouka to the harem. Do not worry, I am being sensible about this and already have a plot point in my head for her. There will also be a SECRET Harem girl that I hope will be a pleasant surprise to people. Unfortunately, I am still on the fence about Lamia. Don't get me wrong, it would be a fun thing to do, it's just thinking of a plot point with her. I am not just going to have her magically like him for no established reason.**_

_**Anyway, please review my story, every one helps.**_

_**R-0 Out!**_


	4. Chapter 4: Events Set In Motion

_**Hello everyone, R-0 here and welcoming you back to another chapter of my FanFiction. Please read the end notes.**_

_**Disclaimer: Super Robot Wars and its respective characters belong to me. If it did, there would be an English translation for Original Generations available.**_

* * *

Chapter 4: Events set in motion

**A few days later, Izu Base, Ingram's office**

"So, Ryusei agreed to become a test pilot for Project SRX?" Aya asked her commander. To which he gives a curt nod.

"Indeed he did, Aya." He replies.

"How did you convince him?"

"See, that's the strange part, he openly agreed without much hesitation." Ingram explains, "Even after I told him that our world was at the risk of an Alien Invasion, which he was equally open-minded about."

"Really, sir? He just accepted the truth and willingly joined the project without any strings attached?" Aya asks incredulously.

Ingram shakes his head slightly, "He did give a few conditions to joining the project." Aya raises a quizzical brow at this.

"What were the conditions, sir?"

"Firstly, his mother be moved to the Military Hospital and receive full medical attention." Aya nods at this.

"And what was the other, sir?"

"Well…"

* * *

**Flashback…**

"Secondly, I want to be able to maintain full contact with my Mother." Ryusei stated.

Ingram gives Ryusei a quizzical look.

"That is a peculiar request, I thought you were aware that we do allow you to keep in contact with your relatives who live outside of the base." Ingram asked.

Ryusei simply sighed a little.

"That isn't what I am talking about, I am talking about all that censorship crap, I want to be able to talk to my Mother when I want to without fear of the message getting rejected because I may mention one sensitive thing!" Ryusei explained.

"But you do know that those censorship laws are there for a reason?"

"Regardless…" Ryusei replies.

For a few seconds, Ingram just studied Ryusei, trying to ascertain some reason for this request. Some specific motive for it. Ultimately, he found none and conceded.

"All right, I accept your terms." Ryusei gives a grin at this.

"Good! Well then…" He held out his hand across the table, "I look forward to working with you."

Ingram responds in kind by grabbing Ryusei hand with his own and shaking it.

* * *

**End of Flashback**

Aya looks visibly confused at this.

"So, Ryusei has been given special permission to contact his family whenever he wants to?" Ingram nods at the question, "He must really care for his mother."

Ingram gives a curt nod.

"I believe that that care he shows towards his mother is one of his biggest strengths."

_And, if the occasion arises, something I can use to bring out his full potential…_

"Was it really worth it, sir? Having to go to such extremes just to recruit Ryusei?"

"Aya, I believe that Ryusei will make it all worthwhile. Sure, he is young and headstrong, but would you prefer to work with someone less friendly?" Aya makes a panicked look at this.

"O-of course not, sir! It just seems a bit excessive for ONE candidate."

Ingram looks directly at her and stares at her in the way that makes her heart beat faster (which Ingram knows full well).

"Aya… Do you trust me?"

"O-Of course I do, Sir."

"Then trust that I know what I am doing." He relaxes back into his office chair, "Ryusei should be arriving on base soon, please go greet him."

"Y-yes sir!" She quickly runs out of the Office, leaving Ingram alone.

Regaining his composure, Ingram sits back down into his chair and takes a long sigh, pondering Ryusei Date and the shocking amount of skill he has presented as a rookie. Ingram was already tempted to recruit Ryusei even before he saw how naturally skilled the young psychodriver was. This was because of who Ryusei's mother must be...

_If Yukiko Date truly is his mother, then he inherited PsychoDriver abilities from the woman who was supposed to be Levi Tolar. Oh, that reminds me..._

Ingram straightens up in his chair and opens one of the drawers in his desk. He pulls out a small, communicator-like device with a small screen.

"This is Aleph Barshem, Atad, are you there?" Ingram addresses the screen, there is no answer for a few moments before…

"Yes, I'm here Aleph, what do you want?" A familiar red-eyed woman known as Atad Shamran appears on-screen in her normal salmon-coloured outfit. She has a look of irritation and seems to radiate her superior attitude even through the screen.

"Is something the matter, Atad?" Ingram asks. Atad gives an irritated growl to his question.

"You know that communicator is supposed to used for emergencies, Lady Levi wouldn't be happy if our Mole was discovered." She explains to him.

"Forgive me, but I had to deliver this information as soon as I could, it just couldn't wait." Ingram explains. Atad, however, does not seem satisfied as an irritated and impatient look is prominent on her face.

"Well, what is it?!" The impatience in her tone of voice is prominent.

"I… have a special sample that Lady Levi should be made aware of, one that we would be wise to keep a close eye on." Atad raises an inquisitive eyebrow at his statement.

"A sample, Aleph?" Ingram nods at the question. "Samples are samples, why risk your cover over just one measly sample?"

"Because I believe that this particular sample has the same potential power and skill as Lady Levi herself, if not more." Ingram explains to Atad, to which she becomes increasingly angered.

"You would dare compare Lady Levi to a pathetic, little human?! How dare you!" Her tone was noticeably hostile. Ingram flinched at her remark.

_I forgot that Atad hates for her and Levi to be compared to earthlings._

"That wasn't my intention at all," he explains "I was just trying to stress how invaluable this particular sample will be to the cause." She seems to visibly calm down. He smirks a little bit, "he may even be worth a full shell personality insertion and reconditioning." Atad's eyes clearly widen at this.

"We rarely ever use THAT form of indoctrination into our Army, we only use it for high-profile candidates… " she starts, "what the hell did this sample do to get your attention?" she asks.

"He managed to fully annihilate a full platoon of Megillots." Atad scoffs at this explanation.

"Big deal, I have seen plenty of Earthling pilots that-" Ingram interrupts her.

"ALONE, in an UNARMED machine." Atad momentarily pauses at the shock of what he said.

"That doesn't qualify him as a sample, so what does, Aleph?"

"How about the fact that, in the moments when his Psychodriver powers activated, they were at a shockingly high number that rivaled (If not surpassed) Lady Levi's own abilities. The shock on Atad's face is as clear as a perfectly Glass.

"A-are you serious, Aleph?"

"Just trust me on this, Atad."

The room is silent for a few seconds; Atad seems motionless for a few seconds and just stares intently at Ingram, clearly lost in thought

"Alright then, I'll have him specifically recommended to Lady Levi for a Full Shell Personality Insertion." She concedes, "Even if you and your clone aren't pure Balmarians, like me and Lady Levi, you have always been a good judge of character and your samples have always been excellent." She explains, "this sample must be worthy of the specific recommendation you are giving him, though, from the story you have weaved surrounding him, he definitely seems worth the trouble."

Ingram breathes a sigh of relief at her acceptance.

"Send me your sample's data and I will analyze him myself." Atad commands "everything Aleph, from his background information, to any footage you have of this so-called annihilation and the readings for his brainwaves."

"Of course, Atad." He inserts a data device into the communicator, "the information is being transferred to you now."

"Excellent!" Atad exclaims.

"Oh, and one more thing, Atad." Ingram begins.

"What is it?"

"When you recommend him to Lady Levi, you need to…"

* * *

**Scene Change, Nevi'im**

Currently, Atad is kneeling before the leader of the Aerogator invasion force, Levi Tolar. She is currently sitting on her throne staring down at Atad, who has just finished informing her of Ingram's recommendation. Levi has her legs crossed and is looking at the data-pad in her hand. The information containing Ryusei's background information, his battle data from Tenzan and the Megillots as well as the brainwave readings for Ryusei.

Upon properly analyzing Ryusei's data, both Levi and Atad were visibly impressed with what Ingram was offering.

Levi lowers the data-pad from her face, a small smirk staining it. She looks directly at Atad.

"Impressive, and Aleph gives this sample his full recommendation for a Full Shell Personality Insertion and Physical Reconditioning?" Levi asks.

Atad nods at the question.

"Yes, Lady Levi. I have personally analyzed the information surrounding Sample No.55, Ryusei Date, and I can personally say that he would be a welcome addition to our Army. He is simply too dangerous to be on the enemy's side." She explains.

Sitting there, Levi acknowledges the logic behind Atad's words, she even agrees with it. However, there is something else bothering her. A small little tug in her heart when she looks at him, a strange feeling of deja-vu.

_Why… Why do I feel like I know him? Why…Why do I feel so pleasant when I look at him?_

She quickly shook her head, the motion successful in blocking the slight coloring on her cheeks. She quickly put a stern face back on and glared at Atad.

"We are going to capture the sample immediately! Send a squad of Zechariahs to seize him during his next sortie onto the battlefield! Megillots will not be enough to capture him!" She commands.

"My lady, I am afraid that we cannot do that." Atad responds. Levi looks visibly annoyed at her rebuttal.

"What?!"

"It would be unwise to capture him at the moment." Atad explains herself. Levi frowns at her contradicting her command.

"Are you disobeying me, Atad?!" The venom in Levi's voice was apparent. Atad visually flinched at it.

"N-no, of course not, Lady Levi!" Atad quickly responds, "This was Aleph's idea!" Levi raises a quizzical eyebrow at this.

"Aleph's?" She asks.

"He said that it would be unwise to capture him now, not until the true limits of his abilities are discovered. Aleph believes that he should monitor him for a while to get a proper grasp of his skills and potential." Atad explains, "Also, he believes that a conflict is soon to unfold on Earth and that the sample's abilities will be needed for the conflict. Possibly, to bring out other sample's potential"

"Once this conflict has ended, Aleph will contact us when a convenient opportunity arises for capture of the Sample." Atad finishes her explanation, "As much as it disgusts me to say this, I agree with Aleph's logic."

Levi's frown lets up and she relaxes back into her throne, she takes a long, deep sigh and composes herself, her Emotional outburst confusing her.

_I have never gotten so riled up over something before… That damn human is affecting somehow and I haven't even met him…! I think…_

She was so confused. As much as she knew that she had never met him before, a part of her couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity when she looks at him.

"Alright then, Atad. You and Aleph have made your point. I'll allow him to continue monitoring Ryusei Date until he believes that he is ready for capture."

"Of course, Lady Levi. I will go and inform Aleph of your decision." She got out of her kneeling position and left the room. Atad, unfortunately, has a thought spread across her, mind:

_Lady Levi just referred to him as "Ryusei Date", not "The Sample", I wonder why?_

* * *

**Scene Change, an hour earlier, Yukiko's hospital.**

Ryusei was sat next to his mother's bed, his childhood friend Kusuha sat on the other side next to him. They were both looking worriedly at him. Why? Well, for several reasons.

Firstly, Ryusei had a stern expression on his face. Whenever he has such an expression, it usually means that they are about to talk about something serious.

Secondly, he was still wearing his ruined clothes from the previous night's encounterwith the Megillots. Bloodstains were spattered across the clothing. When Yukiko and Kusuha asked where the blood came from, he simply said it was an injury from the "Accident" at the Karukami Dome.

"Listen Mom, I need to talk to you about something real important." He takes a deep breath and prepares to explain himself.

"I made a deal with the military. They need my help with some project that, apparently, I qualify for." Yukiko doesn't interrupt him, "They are going to transfer you to a Military hospital where you will be able to recover. I also pulled a few strings so I can contact you whenever I want."

"Don't try and talk me out of this, Mom, this is something I NEED to do. Just remember that I love you." The room was quiet for a few seconds as no-one said anything. At least that was until Yukiko let out a little giggle.

"Honestly, Ryu, you don't have to explain yourself to me. I trust that you know what you are doing." She gives him a little smile, "You are an adult now, Ryu, and you need to make your own way in life." Her smile becomes softer, "Just remember to keep in contact with me, OK?"

Ryusei responds with his own little smile, "Of course, Mom." He quickly glanced at the watch to see that he only had 50 minutes before the car will pick him, "Oh, I gotta get going, Mom. They are picking me up in an hour and I gotta…" he pats his dirty clothes, "freshen up, Mom."

"Of course, Ryu. Go have fun."

Ryusei quickly gets up and walks out of the door with Kusuha in tow.

* * *

**A Few minutes later.**

Kusuha and Ryusei were just talking for the journey back to his house before eventually arriving outside his own house. Its appearance is fairly common looking.

"Alright Kusuha, I gotta cut this short and get ready." He turns to head into the house to prepare.

"Will you be gone long, Ryusei-Kun?" Kusuha asks, the sadness in her voice is apparent.

"I'm sorry, Kusuha, but I needs to do this." He then remembers something.

"Hey Kusuha, you ever thought about joining the military as a nurse?" Kusuha looks at him slightly confused.

"Why do you ask, Ryusei-kun?"

"No reason, just something you should think about. You could do a lot of good, in my opinion." And with that, Ryusei goes inside the house. A slight smirk on his face.

_Hopefully, she'll still get picked up now for the Project._

Ryusei immediately heads upstairs to take a quick shower before changing out of his clothes. He turns the shower on and lets it heat up, ultimately he decides that his clothes are ruined and so heads downstairs and throws them in the bin. It isn't until he heads back into the bathroom and sees his reflection that he notices something…

A long, large scar runs down the front of his chest, easily prominent.

_W-what the hell?! I've never had a scar!_

He knows that he wasn't injured during his fight with the Megillots. So when could he have…

_N-No way… It couldn't be…_

Turning around , he does indeed see the exact same scar on his back as well, just mirrored, indicating that he was impaled by something.

_The only time I was impaled by something…_

… _was the large piece of shrapnel from when Beowulf heavily damaged the R-1!_

Ryusei was so confused, why did he have a scar from another time?

_Unless, Ingram kept my body the same as when he sent me back!_

Something made sense to Ryusei then, his clothes felt a bit tight on him, he felt taller than he did at this point in time. His musculature is definitely better than it was at this point previously. It was more comparable to his musculature at the end of the previous time-line.

_It must be true, I still have my original body, why didn't Ingram tell me about this? Is this his idea of a joke. What a sick joke it is…_

He got into the shower and turned the water on, he was still lost in thought as he realized that he had a permanent reminder of what he did wrong, how he was powerless to save his friends.

_Maybe that's why Ingram made me keep this body. He wanted me to remember why I have to become stronger this time around._

Just as soon as he finished his thought pattern, he was done washing himself. He quickly dried himself off and headed into his bedroom to pull out some more clothes. He settled on a T-Shirt with a picture of a Super Robot on it and some jeans. Luckily, these clothes were a slightly larger size than his others.

Just as soon as he finishes getting ready, a horn can be heard outside the house. Knowing it must be the car, he runs downstairs and out of the door. He remembers to lock it before getting in the car.

Just as soon as he gets inside, the car sets off and Ryusei is filled with an immense anticipation over one, simple thing.

_I finally get to see Aya again and Rai soon!_

* * *

**Scene Change, Izu Base entrance**

The car soon enough arrives at his destination and Ryusei gets out of the car. He quickly takes notice of the person who he has been looking forward to seeing again. Aya Kobayashi.

It takes all of his will to not grin like an idiot an hug her. Instead adopting a cheerful smile and walks up to her in a casual manner.

"You must be Ryusei Date, correct?" She asks.

"Yep, that's me, what's your name?"

"I'm Aya Kobayashi, I'm the team leader for the unit you will be part of." She explained.

"You sound familiar, were you the one on the communicator?" Aya gives him a guilty look.

"Yes, I'm sorry that I was snappy with you back then." Ryusei just gives her a cheerful smirk. And waves his hand in a casual manner.

"It's cool; you were just trying to help me out, no harm done, eh?" Aya seems to relax a little with his friendly manner. "Anyway, do I have to call you Leader or something?" Aya giggles a little and shakes her head.

"How about if I call you Ryu, you call me Aya?" She holds out her hand for him to shake.

"Yeah, that'll work!" He replies cheerfully, responding by grasping her hand with his own.

What Aya was not expecting was an immense pressure from the boy. She almost collapsed to her knees from it, but managed to stay upright from it, instead visually flinching.

"Oi, you alright?" Ryusei asked, concern lacing his tone.

"I-I'm fine, please follow me and we'll get you settled." With that, Aya quickly started walking with Ryusei following her, slightly confused at her abruptness.

What he didn't realize was that she was looking at her hand with slight confusion.

_His touch… that pressure… why is it so familiar?_

* * *

"_**Gets on his hands and knees in apology" I am SO sorry for my delay! I have no excuse for it! It has been a REALLY busy couple of months for me! I had my exams, then Dead Space 3 came out, then Metal Gear Rising, then Zone of The Enders HD. I even had to restart my SRW playthrough because I accidentally over-wrote my files on the GameBoy. Quick question regarding the game: All my characters are LV 20 or over and have at least 1 Support (Some have SP Regen) for my battle with Bian Zoldark and Shu, their mechs all have at least two bars of Upgrades and they all have a weapon that does over 3200 damage. Latooni and Wildraubitier have the Energy Taker. Am I decently ready for it?**_

_**Anyway, this chapter was supposed to be Ryusei meeting Aya and Rai, but I thought of that whole mini-plot with Levi and Atad off the top of my head. So, the chapter kinda became this… But hey, Levi has her eye on Ryusei now, how will their intended capture of him affect things?**_

_**On another note, I have decided to include R-1 Powered, but it will not be the final upgrade.**_

_**Also, earlier I mentioned an intermission fic. While After OG1 and After OG2 are still on the drawing board. I have decided to do a little Arc during that time when the Hagane is hunting the DC remnants. Won't spoil much surrounding that…**_

_**Also, the harem list has been finalised. I always intended it to be a reasonable number and I believe that anymore would be too difficult to work with.**_

_**The list is as follows:**_

_**1) Latooni**_

_**2) Mai**_

_**3) Aya**_

_**4) Viletta**_

_**5) Ouka**_

_**6) Lamia**_

_**7) SECRET**_

_**Also, I plan to start up two new fanfics, a Fairy Tail one and a Gundam SEED one. I'm not a SEED fanboy before anyone asks. Look forward to those.**_

_**R-0 Out!**_


	5. Chapter 5 A Successful Training Exercise

_**Hello everyone, R-0 here with (Surprisingly) a new chapter, as always, please read the Author Notes at the end.**_

_**I do not own Super Robot Wars and its respective characters. Believe me, if I did, Bullet would be a Red-shirt character or wouldn't exist to begin with, Ryusei would actually have a harem comprised of all the SRX Team Ladies (and many more), the R-1 would get a goddamn upgrade and I would get the newer games translated.**_

Chapter 5: A Successful Training Exercise?!

* * *

**Sometime later, Ingram's office**

The third teammate, One Blonde-Haired Raidiese F. Branstein has just arrived on-base and has just me Ingram and Aya. After some pleasantries, Aya asked Rai to follow her so she can show him to his quarters.

* * *

**Scene Change**

Rai and Aya were walking down one of the base corridors, after Aya had she shown him to his quarters, Aya waited for him to get changed into his assigned uniform. He eventually stepped back outside and Aya told him that she was going to give him a tour of the Base. Currently, they are casually chatting about random things, that is until Rai brought up an interesting topic:

"So Lieutenant…" He begins.

"Yes, what is it?"

"You mentioned that this was three-man team…" She nods at his statement, "so where is the other teammate?" He asks.

She responds with a little smile.

"I was just about to take you to meet him, though I do have one small piece of advice for you."

"And what is that, Lieutenant?" He asks.

"Please don't judge him at first glance." She gives him a fairly stern look, as if almost ordering him to. Rai gives her a slightly confused look.

_Whatever could she mean by that?_

Eventually, he gets his answer as she leads him to the Simulator Room where all the VR Terminals are kept. At that moment, only one was in use (proven by the hatch closed, which signifies that it is in-use) .

Rai and Aya, instead of interrupting the user, decided to watch the battle on-screen. The sight surprising the Military-Born Blonde.

The User was piloting a Blue and white Gespenst in, his opponents were 5 Gespensts. What was more interesting was that, whoever the Pilot was, he had the set the difficulty to HIGH.

With VR usage, there are 3 Levels of Difficulty, LOW, NORMAL and HIGH. Each Level of difficulty is influenced by one thing only. The abilities of the AI opponents. Basically, the VR makes use of Pilot Data already in system, ranging from rookies to Ace Pilots.

LOW simply uses first time pilot's data, basically pilots as green as grass.

NORMAL uses Pilot data from semi-skilled pilots, usually your everyday grunts.

HIGH makes use of Ace Pilot's data to construct the opponents. While the AI are nowhere near as skilled as the Ace Pilots they are based off, they are still considered to be very much a challenge.

It was clearly obvious who the AI had based the AI opponents off.

The first enemy Gespenst had a simple black paint job, it's only armament was a two-handed Beam Rifle equipped with a scope, it lacked the Split Missile Pods as well as the Plasma Stakes on the left arm, instead opting for a Beam Sabre rack.

The Second Enemy Gespenst had a much more standard appearance, still keeping the Plasma Stakes and Split Missile Pods. What was worth mentioning, however, is that, unlike a normal Gespenst, this one was equipped with a Photon Rifle and a Deep Purple Paint Job.

The Third Enemy Gespenst had no handheld weapon and no Split Missiles. Instead, it had an extra set of Plasma Stakes on the Right hand also. It had a Dark-Green Paint Job. It was also equipped with Chobham Armour, giving it a more bulky appearance.

The Fourth enemy Gespenst had a Black paint Job with Gold Streaks. Like the previous Gespenst, it lacked any hand-held weapons or Split Missiles. Unlike the previous Gespenst, however, it also lacked ANY Plasma Stakes. The only weapon it had was a Shishioh Blade that was mounted on the Left Skirt.

Upon the final Gespenst, Rai frowned a little. It had also had a Black Paint Job (with the top of the head unit having a red paint scheme). It's armament was a single boosted rifle and Split Missiles.

Rai, was quite stunned at the line-up, he could easily figure out just who the AI had based the units on. He felt himself impressed at the pilot for attempting to try to fight this line-up. Aya, while not being aware of three of the units, could at least make out what two of them were based on. She may have seen the Pilot in action, but she will still say that it is a tough line-up just based on those two alone.

They both turned their attention towards the Pilot's Gespenst.

It sported a white colour scheme all over with the torso having a Blue Colour Scheme. A Red Number "1" could be seen on the left shoulder pad. It had a Boosted Rifle and a G-Revolver equipped in each respective hand. It had the split missiles like normal as well as the Plasma Stakes. However, the pilot had also elected to place a Beam Sabre rack on the right arm, also.

The pilot had also selected the mode to be "Arena". This mode basically means that you systematically fight each enemy one by one in a terrain of the AI's choosing. After defeating one enemy, the next one steps forward and fights, the AI changes the terrain again to suit that opponent. The Player is at a disadvantage as they cannot repair their unit after each battle, meaning that, if they get to the final opponent armless, then they are armless for the fight.

Currently, the Player was fighting the Beam Rifle-equipped Gespenst in a Debris Field. The enemy was hidden in a wrecked Peregrine-Class, its rifle locked onto the Player Gespenst. Rai is clearly not impressed.

_Well, this is about to be over quickly…_

The Player's Gespenst seems completely unaware to the Rifle currently locked onto it, just casually drifting around, looking for the enemy.

The AI uses this moment of seeming obliviousness and fires it's beam rifle, the purple bolt of energy charging straight towards the Player's Gespenst.

What it doesn't expect is the unit to mount it's G-Revolver on its left skirt and the Boosted Rifle on the Rear Skirt. It quickly grabs a large piece of Debris and blocks the energy blast, a small explosion occurring.

The AI is confused, not only was the attack blocked, but the Player is nowhere in sight. Rai gives a satisfied smirk while Aya is not surprised. She has seen him fight previously, after all.

The AIs confusion is eventually solved as a beam sabre pierces the underside of the Peregrine, easily reaching high enough to pierce the tip of the Beam Rifle, causing it to explode. The Ai panics and quickly dashes out of the wreckage and dives beneath the Peregrine to look for for the Player.

What it does not expect is for a Boosted Rifle to be pointing at its cockpit the moment it notices the Player. It is too late for the AI to do anything as the Rifle fires and pierces through the Chest, causing the AI Gespenst to explode.

While Rai doesn't openly show his approval, he gives a little hum.

Aya looks to him, and sees the slight look of approval on his face. "Not that bad, eh Rai?" Rai merely responds with a slight nod.

_One down, four to go…_

The field changes to a Meadow field as the Purple Gespenst steps forward into the Battle Zone. It wastes no time and charges towards the Player Gespenst, releasing the Split Missiles and a shot from the Photon Rifle. The Player releases its own volley of Split missiles and both volleys clash. The Photon Rifle shot still charges through the explosion. The Player Gespenst responds by throwing the Boosted Rifle at the shot, causing it to explode.

The Purple Gespenst charges through the explosion with the Plasma Stakes ready, indicating that it is going to use the Jet Magnum. The Player Gespenst responds by transferring the G-Revolver to his right hand and charging up its own Plasma Stakes. The Purple Gespenst descends down and thrusts its left fist forward, the electrical energy from the plasma stakes sparking off it. The Player Gespenst's Fist does the same.

However, he doesn't go to challenge the Jet Magnum. Instead, he moves to the left, dodging the Jet Magnum and punches the arm, causing it to tear off.

Using the moment, the Player Gespenst aims the G-Revolver at the cockpit and fires, the G-Revolver's high impact easily bursting into the cockpit, causing the Gespenst to explode.

Watching the fight, Rai feels slightly more impressed with the pilot.

_Two down, Three to go. But he has lost his Boosted Rifle and Split Missiles._

The area changed to an Urban field as the Green Gespenst was next to fight. It wasted no time and charged directly towards the player Gespenst. The Player responding by dashing backwards away from the Enemy. While doing so, it continually shoots its G-Revolver at the Green Gespenst. Unfortunately, the Gespenst's Chobham Armour easily reduced the damage, however, dents were made on the armour.

Eventually, the G-Revolver ran out of ammo and the Player drops it, instead throwing the G-Revolver at the Gespenst and equipping a Beam Sabre. What raises Rai's and Ayas's eyebrows is that he throws the Beam Sabre at the G-Revolver, causing it to explode.

This momentarily stuns the enemy Gespenst, giving the Player a chance to retaliate. He pulls out his remaining two beam sabres and charge towards the enemy. The Green Gespenst was quite close to him when the stunning explosion erupted, meaning that the brief moment of stun was enough.

The player swiped its two beam sabres in an upward motion, the hot blades easily cutting through the Gespenst's arms, which lacked any Chobham Armour, rendering the Gespenst armless. The Player Gespenst does not relent and drives the Beam Sabre in its left hand into the enemy's chest, however the Armour is too thick and so the Player is unable to remove it.

Not risking being caught at a point blank explosion, the Player lets go of its Beam Sabre and boosts away, the Gespenst subsequently exploding.

Once again, Rai gives a slight smirk of approval.

_Three down, two to go. He only has a Beam Sabre and his Plasma Stakes left._

"This is as far as he has gotten, Rai." Aya suddenly says, Rai responds with a confused face and tone.

"What do you mean?"

"He has fought these opponents and this mode numerous times since he has gotten here. He only ever managed to get through the Green Gespenst before losing." Aya explains to Rai. Her explanation pleases him greatly.

_At least my teammate is dedicated._

The area then changes to a rather peculiar Mechanical Dojo with the Black and Gold Gespenst stood directly across from the Player's Gespenst. The Player still had its Beam Sabre equipped. The enemy wastes no time at all and charges towards the Player's Gespenst, drawing its Shishioh Blade and swiping in a downwards motion. The Player responds by clashing the blade with his Beam Sabre.

Both Gespensts are planted firmly into the ground neither are unmoving as the other would be given an advantage. The Shishioh Blade is easily able to resist the extreme heat of the Beam Sabre's blade.

It looks like both Gespensts are even. Unfortunately, this is not the case…

The Enemy Gespenst, through sheer strength, manages to fling the Beam Sabre a distance away from the two of them. The Player Gespenst is unarmed and stunned. The Enemy uses this moment and swipes downwards, cutting off its right arm.

Rai breathes a sigh of disappointment.

_I guess this is it…_

What Rai doesn't expect is for the Player's Gespenst to head-butt the Enemy Gespenst, shattering both of the visors. The Enemy Gespenst momentarily staggers backwards and lets down its guard. The Player Gespenst uses this moment and charges its Plasma Stakes, the Jet Magnum coming to life.

The Player runs its electrically charged fist through the Gespenst's chest, it holds it for a few more seconds before pulling out and boosting away, trying to grab the Beam Sabre before the field resets. Unfortunately, he doesn't make it and the Enemy Gespenst explodes before he can grab the Beam Sabre.

Rai has a fairly surprised look on his face at what just happened, he seriously hadn't expected for the Player to have been able to recover from losing an arm, especially while engaged in melee with a close-range fighter.

_But he still has one last fight left, he's missing an arm and has only his Plasma Stakes. Can he do it?_

Meanwhile, Aya notices that at Rai's approval over the pilot. She inwardly breathes a sigh of relief.

_Looks like Ryu won't have to try TOO hard to get on Rai's good side… Thank god for that!_

Before the Player can grab its Beam Sabre, the field resets, causing it to disappear. The field becomes a Canyon field, the design being a large area of stone pillars surrounded by a larger higher ground.

The Player is in the lower area with the pillars while the Enemy Gespenst (Red and Black) spawned on the Higher Ground.

Instantly, the enemy Gespenst gets on its knees and aims its Boosted Rifle at the Player. Firing a shot, the bullet hurtles through the air towards the Player. Luckily, the Player dashes to the right in time, causing the bullet to only scrape the left hand side of the chest.

The Player then dashes in the direction of the Enemy Gespenst . The enemy doesn't let up and continually shoots Boosted Rifle rounds at the Player. Unfortunately for the enemy, the Player uses the stone pillars for cover and the Shots just impact upon the pillars. The Player continued to dash in the direction of the Enemy.

The reason why the enemy chooses not to move is that, eventually, it will have a clean shot. This is because there is an open area between its position and the Stone Pillars. It is not large, but there is enough time for it to get a clean shot. Eventually, the player Gespenst manages to make it to this area.

What it does next is definitely… Unorthodox.

It charges up its Plasma Stakes and literally punches the ground. The result of this is for the sand to get stirred and cause a large mist of sand. This prevents the Enemy from being able to counterattack and use the open area to its advantage.

After a few seconds of no movements, the Player Gespenst charges through Dust cloud in the ari with its Plasma Stakes charged, indicating the planned usage of the Jet Magnum.

Instead of trying to retreat (like a human would have), the Enemy instead continues to fire Boosted Rifle shots at the Gespenst. Most of the shots do succeed in hitting the Gespenst. They hit one of the legs which explode. The head which disintegrates into nothing as well as hitting the chest, but not the cockpit. The Player , however doesn't relent and succeeds in getting point blank at the Enemy, thrusting its Jet Magnum forward. The Jet Magnum easily piercing through the cockpit. Unfortunately, the Player lacks any thrusters after getting shot off and so cannot remove himself.

The Enemy explodes, sending the Player back over the edge, armless, and begins to fall back down to ground level. Luckily, before he impacts on the ground , the field goes black. On the outside, the display monitors flash "Game Over, Player Wins". Indicating that the player had won the mode.

Rai was now truly impressed, while it is true that the AI are nowhere near as strong as the pilots they are based off as well as being incapable of thinking on their own feet, they could still give a good pilot a run for their money. The point of the Mode is to make pilots endure strong opponent after strong opponent, not beat them all down!

_Who is this pilot? Is he like me? From a prestigious Military Family?_

Aya breaks him out of his thoughts when she called out the name of this pilot.

"Ryu, can you get out of the Pod for a second? I need you for something!"

Just as soon as she asks, the Pod's door opens and the person who steps out certainly surprises Rai.

A young youth with Short, brown hair stepped out of the Pod, he wore a similar uniform except the Undershirt was white with a turtleneck. He barely looked out of his teens.

_How… How can someone so young be so skilled as a pilot?_

What Rai and Aya don't notice is the sweaty patch on his back. Or his slightly laboured breathing.

_Geez, I really pushed myself to beat that mode. But I feel so much more stronger now!_

"Did you see that, Aya?! I finally beat it!" His voice is exceptionally cheerful. Aya gives a little giggle in response.

"I saw it, Ryu. Good work." She congratulates him. "That was your fifth attempt, right?" He nods and then glances at Rai.

"Who's this guy, Aya?" Ryusei feigns ignorance, because he knows full well who it is.

"Oh right, this is our third and final teammate, Ryu." Aya gestures to him, "why don't you introduce yourself?"

"Raidiese F Branstein, please just call me Rai" He holds out his hand to shake, "and you are?"

The gesture shock Ryusei as, in the previous timeline, Rai was very snobbish with him and looked down on him for his age. Ryusei quickly returns the gesture with a cheerful grin.

"I'm Ryusei Date, nice to meet you!" Once again, he was very cheerful in his tone of voice. Rai responds with a little smile and nod.

"Likewise." He lets go of his hand gestures his head towards the VR booth, "that was impressive piloting just then, how old are you exactly?"

"I'm 18, and it wasn't a very big deal, I'm not the best pilot." Aya joins in the conversation.

"Give yourself some credit, Ryu, you did take on Eight Megillots in an unarmed Gespenst and win!" Rai gives her a surprised look.

"Is this true, Ryusei?" He asks.

"Yeah, it's true." He scratches the back of his head in embarrassment, "I just took them down one by one as their strength were in their numbers , you know?" Then Rai responds with an answer that shocks Ryusei a little bit.

"Not many pilots could do that, Ryusei, be proud of that."

To say that Ryusei is confused is an understatement, he doesn't think Rai ever complemented him back in his own timeline; he was never this courteous towards him either.

_My performance just then must have really made a good impression on him. I best keep it up and not let him down!_

"Thanks, Rai." Ryusei gives a slight smile in return.

Aya watches the banter between the two of them and breathes a sigh of relief. She was worried that Rai, a career soldier, and Ryu, A cheerful civilian, would not have been able to click very well. She was extremely happy to be proven wrong.

"Anyway, Rai, Ryu, we have our first training exercise coming up. We should get going." She breaks them out of their banter, they both look at her and respond with a nod.

"Roger." Rai responds.

"All right, let's do it!" Ryusei responds.

* * *

**Scene Change, Training Field**

The two Gespenst Type-TTs and The Schutzwald are lined up next to each other. Aya, Ryusei and Rai are piloting those mechs respectively. Ingram, in the command Vehicle, is at a safe distance and communicates with them.

"For our first exercise, you will be required to neutralise the enemy leader." Ingram explains, "Your opponent will be the Haruma Tank Squadron, losing condition is if Aya's Gespenst is neutralised. She will be commanding the mission so follow her orders."

"Ok." Ryusei responds.

"Roger that." Rai responds.

_Sergeant Haruma, your trick won't work on me this time!_

"In that case, let the operation begin." Ingram commands.

All three of them activate their respective mechs and they hover off the ground.

"Alright you two, I think we will try Formation-" Aya does not get to finish her sentence as Ryusei interrupts her.

"Aya, do you mind if I interrupt you for a second, I got something I need to say." Rai raises a quizzical eyebrow.

"S-sure, go ahead, Ryu." She was slightly annoyed that he interrupted her, however it must have been with good reason.

"With all due respect, Aya, I don't like this." Aya gives him a confused look. Rai smirks a little.

_So you noticed it too…_

"W-what do you mean, Ryu?"

"I mean, where are the rest of the tanks?" Ryusei ask. Aya responds by having her Gespenst pointing to the Haruma's small unit.

"Over there, Ryu." On the communication screen, Ryusei shakes his head.

"Aya, while I may not be from the military from Rai, I know for a fact that there is more tanks in a Squadron than those ones over there. My question is this, where are the others?" Rai decides to join the conversation.

"With all due respect, Lieutentant, I agree with Ryusei. There should be more of them."

"So then, what are you thinking, Ryu?"

"It's an ambush." Ryusei uses his own Gespenst and gestures towards the large hilly segments next to the leaders location. "They could easily hide tanks on either side and flank us when we get to close. This would render our robot's biggest strength, its speed, completely useless." He looks at Rai, "do you agree?"

"I concur with what Ryusei is saying, Lieutenant, this screams a trap."

Aya looks between the two of them and then at the battlefield. She ponders what they have said for a few seconds before sighing and nodding her head.

"It does make sense… So what do we do?" Ryusei smirks a little.

"Spring the trap, me and Rai head around the back of those slopes and wait for the reinforcements. Aya, you charge ahead and try to get them to spring their trap." Aya frowns a little.

"Why am I the bait?!"

"Because me and Rai are the better pilots, there will be much more enemies in the reinforcements so we need to take them down." Aya doesn't bother to rebut Ryusei for his comment because it was true, Rai and Ryusei are better pilots.

"Alright then."

"Ignore the ones in front, they probably won't attack and try to retreat, possibly to lead you into their trap, just boost over them and head straight for the leader. Hopefully me and Rai will be set up in time for when they spring the trap." Rai then voices a concern.

"Won't our scheme be obvious when they see us split up?"

"That's a good point," Ryusei then has a brainwave, "Rai, use your Schutzwald's Twin Beam Cannons on the ground in front, the explosion should be large enough to cover up us all splitting up." Rai then sighs a little.

"This is a crazy idea, Ryusei."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No, not really." Rai then moves in front of them and aims his Cannons at the ground, "on your command, Lieutenant" Aya breathes for a few moments before:

"Commence the plan!"

"Roger!" The both yell.

The Schutzwald lets loose its Blue Beams of Destruction which easily impact into the ground. A large explosion is visible from Haruma's position, who becomes slightly confused.

_What are they up to?_

A single Gespenst (Aya's) bursts through the front of the explosion, charging directly for the Type-82 Governments in front (the ones that are bait for Aya, but not the ones further back that are Haruma's).

Following Ryusei's advice, she ignites her boosters and dashes straight over them, charging straight for Haruma.

"They fell for it, spring the trap!" He commands.

Several Governments on either side appear from their hiding place, their guns all locked on Aya. She doesn't deter and continues to charge for Haruma.

He raises his hand, ready to give a command.

"Prepare to fire!"

Aya's Gespenst continues to advance…

"FIR-"

"NOW, RAI! RYU!"

"ROGER!"

A burst of bullets impact a few of the ambush tanks on both sides, disabling them.

"W-what the…?!" Haruma exclaims. He scans around to get his answer.

The Schutzwald and Gespenst Type-TT appear from their own hiding places on either side, The Gespenst's Machine Gun and The Schutzwald's Autocannons easily disabling the Trap Units (They are non-lethal and only cause an EMP burst, disabling whatever they hit). The fact that that they were too focused on Aya's Gespenst makes them unable to counterattack.

Aya breathes a sigh of relief.

_They did it…_

Some of the Tanks have enough time to re-orientate themselves and return fire at Ryusei and Rai. This is all for nothing as Ryusei easily dodges the shots and pulls out a Hologram Sabre from the Left Skirt (it simulates a Beam Sabre, however it is non-lethal and passes through whatever it connects with, only disabling it.) and charges towards the Tanks. The Tanks unable to counterattack when the mech is at point-blank range. Ryusei easily slashes the reinforcements, systematically cutting them down one-by-one, eventually disabling all on the right flank.

Meanwhile, the Tanks on the other side are more fortunate and are able to hit Rai's Schutzwald. Unfortunately, its superior armour easily shrugs off the damage inflicted by their Main Cannons. Rai is unfazed and continues to bombard the tanks with bullets. They perhaps would have been a threat had he not eliminated 50% of them with the surprise attack. The remaining 50% are easily neutralised.

At Haruma's location, he can only watch through his binoculars in surprise (not that he shows it) at how they had basically intentionally sprung his trap so he would release his reinforcements, allowing the two units to lay waste to them.

_It looks like I underestimated this team… Next time though, I'll know not to._

"S-sir!" One of subordinates breaks him out of his thoughts.

"What is it?"

"You… You may want to look up sir…"

To properly understand what he was talking about, he puts the binoculars down from his eyes and looks up. What he saw was a little surprise.

He was looking up the barrel of the Type-TT's M95 Machine Gun. From what he could gather, this was the one sprung the trap as the other two were still mopping up the reinforcements in the area.

"Do you surrender, Sergeant Haruma?" Came the Female voice of Aya, "I doubt Tanks are fast enough to avoid a Machine Gun this close."

Instead of responding with a retort, Haruma calmly steps on top of his tank and raises his hands in the air. All of his subordinates follow suit and raise their own hands.

"We surrender." He replies, "You win for today."

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

"Well… that was a pleasant surprise…" Ingram mutter. One of the Operators gives him a confused look.

"Sir?"

"I expected them to lose." He explains, "Sergeant Haruma's squad are not easy foes. They worked together as a team and prevailed. I didn't think it would be so easy for them to work together."

"Well, it's a good thing they do, sir. It makes your job much easier, doesn't it?"

He nods in response, "Indeed it does."

* * *

**After the battle…**

The SRX Teammates are stood in the hangar holding Drink ration. They all raise their hands and touch them in the air.

"Here's to our first victory as a team!" The three of them state.

Ryusei has a happy grin on his face.

_It's nice to be back with the team again. And Rai's treating me so much better! This couldn't get any better!_

Rai has a slight little smile.

_Looks like being a part of this team won't be so bad after all._

Aya has a satisfied smile.

_It's nice that the three of us are getting along. It will make the project much better!_

"Master Sergeant Ryusei Date, 2nd Lieutentant Raidiese F Branstein, 1ST Lieutentant Aya Kobayashi." They all turn to see Sergeant Haruma and his subordinates all lined up behind him.

"Yes?" Aya replies.

"We came to congratulate with you on your victory. You earned and demonstrated how well suited you are as a team." He salutes, his men instantly follow suit. "However, we will win next time."

Ryusei gives Haruma a big grin, "of course and we look forward to it!"

Haruma responds with a nod and then walks out of the Hangar, his men in tow. Rai then turns to Aya.

"Lieutenant, may I be excused now? I would like to get of this suit."

"Of course, Rai. You can go ahead and leave." Rai gives a quick salute and walks away.

"Well then, I'll get going too, Aya." Ryu turns to leave as well.

"Actually, Ryu, there was something I wanted to talk to you about." Her response stops him in his tracks. He turns around and looks back at her, giving a her a slightly bemused look.

"Ok… What about?" He asks.

"Out on the battlefield, you said something to me…" She begins "because me and Rai are better," she quotes, "do you remember saying that?"

Ryusei begins to feel a bit nervous, he can feel himself sweating a little bit.

_Crap, I didn't mean to insult her. Is she angry at me for being out of line?_

He decides that that is indeed the case and quickly stumbles out an apology.

"Sorry for back then, Aya! I didn't mean to imply anything, I was just in the moment and…" She giggles a little bit.

"Relax, Ryu. I'm not angry at you." He breathes a little sigh of relief, "I just wanted to thank you for that." Ryusei gives her a quizzical eyebrow.

"A thank you? Why?"

"Because it is true, you and Rai are on a whole different level to me. As the team leader, I cannot be allowed to lag behind." She takes a deep breath, "which is why I would like to ask a favour of you."

"What kind of favour?"

"I would like you to teach me how to improve my piloting."

Ryusei stands there utterly nailed to the spot. He is very much shocked at the request.

_Well... this is new…_

"A-are you serious, Aya." She nods.

"I am."

"Why me? Why not Rai, I think he would be a much better teacher as a career soldier and everything."

"That's exactly why I think you would be a better choice." He gives her a confused look.

"How do you mean?"

"As good a pilot Rai is, you are the better choice simply because I relate to you better. Rai is friendly right now, but I think that he would be too strict and I wouldn't be able to relax." She explains, "you however, I feel like that I could relax around you enough to be able to properly take in your instructions."

"I-I see what you mean…"

"So," she reaches her hand out for him to shake, "will you help me?"

Ryusei looks at it for a few seconds. Could he be able to help her become a better pilot? He has never had this sort of responsibility before…

_But… this time, I wanted to make things better… And if helping Aya become stronger can accomplish that, then I have to do it!_

He quickly grabs her hand and shakes it.

"Of course, I'll help you Aya! We are a team, after all!" He gives her a cheerful smile. She giggles and smiles in return.

"Well then… I leave myself in your hands, Ryu."

* * *

_**And so ends Chapter 5…**_

_**I ultimately have decided that, for a while now, I will focus on only this FanFic. It is the one I have wanted to do for the longest time and so will stick with it for a while.**_

_**Now before people complain that Ryusei is overpowered because he beat those AI Gespensts based off… Well, you can guess who, I will reiterate that an AI cannot be as strong as a human. They can copy the fighting styles of strong pilots, but that's just it! COPYING! They are unable to think on their feet. For example, If Ryusei had sliced off one of their arms, they would not have thought to retaliate with a headbutt. And, also, Ryusei was pushing himself to beat it; it wasn't like he was doing it while smoking a Cigar. Comparison: if Bullet tried it, he would have gotten completely gang-banged.**_

_**Anyway, other stuff. So the SRX Team are on better terms with each other. I hope this makes sense where it comes from. **_

_**Ryusei is now trying to help Aya become a better pilot. I wonder how this will affect things? You'll just have to wait and see!**_

_**Something I need to address. I appreciate reviews, but don't ask for things! I appreciate suggestions for when I am stuck, but this is my story. If you want to leave a good suggestion for the fic, please give some logic and reasoning behind it. It is your suggestion, I can't be expected to think up something for it myself. Don't just say "Oh, put this in", do this: "I would like this to happen, maybe you could do this to make it happen?"**_

_**Sorry for that little rant, I just don't like when people don't review my story and instead use the review feature as an excuse to give their personal wants for the fic. It is cool to give suggestions as long as they are logical and justified. **_

_**I hate to pick on people, but mega1987, I appreciate how you have commented on every chapter, but your recent one severely irritated me. You talked about nominating Latooni, Mai and Ouka into the Harem. I stated in the Author Notes the final list and they were on it! Why did you ask this when it was already stated? Secondly, you talked about Lamia having a threesome with Kyosuke and Excellen. It is fine if you are into that sort of thing, but that is a very specific and personal request. Again I stated, at the end, that Lamia would be a member of Ryusei's harem. I gave no indication that Lamia would be doing any such thing with Kyosuke and Excellen, if this is something you would like to see in a fanfic, then you are free to write one. Also, who do you mean when you say Catwoman? I know no character who has feline features who I mentioned as a Harem member.**_

_**I am not trying to upset you. I appreciate the interest you have taken in the Fic, but if you do have to make suggestions, please justify them and give some logic. I am not one these harem writers who is going to be insane and stupid with it and have Ryusei have an orgy with the girls or something like that. As I said before, the harem is not the main part of this fic, it is key, true, but not the sole driving force behind it.**_

_**Also, I will re-stress the fact that the Harem List is DONE, no more suggestions! If you want to see the list, see the previous chapter's Author Notes.**_

_**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**_

_**R-0 Out!**_


	6. Chapter 6: The First Consequence

_**Hello everyone, R-0 here with the next chapter of my fanfic. As always please read the Author Notes at the end.**_

_**I do not own Super Robot Wars. If I did, Ouka would have survived.**_

* * *

Chapter 6: The First Consequence

**DC submarine off the coast of Izu**

Two high ranking officers, Major Tempest Hawker and the Submarine Captain, are watching a certain Test type Armoured Module be loaded onto the Killer Whale Submarine.

"Major…" the DC captain begins, "the loading is expected to be completed at 23:30."

"Understood," he replies, "and the regular flight from Izu?" he asks.

"The reconnaissance plane, you mean?" The Captain asks rhetorically, "it seems it won't be coming today."

"I see…"

"Thanks to that, we can relax tonight and enjoy the view of the moon." The DC Captain continues to say.

"The moon looks best when viewed from space." Hawker responds.

They are broken out of their conversation to the sound of a loud and violent voice.

"OI, YOU BASTARDS!"

The captain and Tempest turn to see one Tenzan Nakajima marching towards them, a very angry look creasing his face. One of the Crewman is following behind him.

"I'm sorry Captain, Major, I told him to wait, but he just forced his way through." Tempest regards the crewman with a look. He responds with a stern nod.

"It's alright, Crewman…" He turns towards the very Irate Tenzan, "what can I help you with, Tenzan Nakajima?"

"When the fuck do I get to pilot the Fucking Test Type?!" He asks, "I have to level up quickly so I can beat that bastard and being locked up in this piece of shit isn't helping me at all!" He asks this all in an exceptionally aggressive tone.

"You will be taking the Test Type out to intercept a Tausendfuessler carrying some high value assets tomorrow. Our contact says that the craft shall be in the vicinity of one of their training grounds." He explains, "You will be authorised to engage the ladybird, but not destroy it, stealth is key during this mission, you will not engage any units engaged in training, is that clear?"

"Fuck that, if I see some enemies, I'm gonna kill them, I need the extra fucking experience, you know?" Tenzan responds.

"So long as you ensure that the Lion's existence is kept a secret, I will authorise it." He regards the DC crewman, "Please show him to his quarters."

The Crewman goes to gesture Tenzan to follow him with the appropriate hand signal. Tenzan, however, snaps the hand away. His facial features still scrunched up in an angry expression.

"I can find my own fucking way!" Tenzan snaps at the crewman. He turns around and storms off, the DC Crewman following close behind. Tempest quickly turns back towards the DC Captain who regards him with a confused look.

"Why exactly is that kid the one to pilot the test type?" Tempest sighs a little.

"He's one of Adler's little projects. While he may seem volatile now, when he's on the battlefield, he is practically a monster, I have seen how dangerous he is. He's so dangerous he has actually killed some of our own comrades during mock battles. His anger works in his favour." Tempest explains to the DC Captain.

"A Wild Card like that is going to cause a little of trouble in the future. Soldiers who are driven by vengeance and anger can become the worst type of soldier." The DC Captain regards Tempest with a knowing look. He responds with a slight frown.

"Such soldiers are sometimes necessary in war."

"If you say so, Major… If you say so…"

* * *

**Scene Change… The Following Morning… Ingram's Office**

One Aya Kobayashi was currently stood in front of the desk of Ingram Prisken. Said man was sat in his chair going over the data for the SRX Team's data for the battle against the Haruma Squad. A video was currently playing in front of him of their battle. Ingram was watching it with a satisfied look on his face. Aya notices this look of satisfaction and breathes a sigh of relief. It always makes her happy when she has pleased him.

Eventually, Ingram pauses the video and averts his eyes from it. He tilts his head towards Aya. He regards her with a smile.

"I am very much impressed with the team's progress." Ingram begins to say, "You easily defeated the Haruma Squad."

"You seem to easily work together as a unit, Aya. Congratulations on a job well done. Thanks to you, the SRX Project will undoubtedly proceed smoothly thanks to you and your team's efforts.

It warms Aya's heart to receive such praise from Ingram. Her cheeks warm up slightly.

"T-Thank you, Ingram. But it wasn't all my doing, our success as a team is just as much Ryu and Rai's doing as my own, sir." She explains.

"I see…" He trails "There was something else I was meaning to ask you about, Aya." Ingram starts to say. Aya regards him with a curious look.

"Sir?"

"I have two other things to ask you…" Ingram explains, "Firstly, I wanted to ask you about your piloting skills." Aya gives him a quizzical look.

"My Piloting Skills, sir?" Her voice is laced with confusion.

"Upon observing the Training Recordings, I have noticed that your piloting has improved from what it was before. You are reacting much better and seem to be able to control your Gespenst much better than before." Ingram explains to Aya, "Care to explain how this has happened."

Ingram knows Aya. He knows that she would give a textbook answer to this question like she has done every other previous question he has asked. This is something that he is confident in knowing.

So you can imagine his surprise when she seemed to lose her composure and her face became quite flustered. She was fidgeting a little bit, as if embarrassed.

"Oh… well, I got some, you know… Help…" She manages to trail out.

"Help?" She nods, "from who? Ryusei and Raidiese?" She nods again.

"Yeah…"

Ingram can see that she is being VERY evasive about the issue, something she never is. This has made him very curious exactly WHAT has caused this reaction from her. However, he knows that she probably does not want to talk about it and decides to drop the subject… For now…

"I see… How goes the relationship factor in the team?" He asks. This succeeds in snapping Aya out of her flustered demeanour.

"Relationship Factor?"

"A successful team is built on a solid bond between each member of said team. My question is, quite simply, how is that going at the moment?"

A proverbial light bulb springs to life over Aya's head as she properly comprehends his question now.

"I understand, sir…" She clears her throat, "… Rai is relatively friendly towards me, sir. We maintain pleasantries and greetings and I do make the effort to try and make him open up towards me. Me and Ryu have managed to convince him to sit with us in the Mess during lunch. His biggest problem is he seems to be stuck in seeing me as the Commanding Officer, but I am making progress."

Ingram pauses for a moment, filing away the relayed information before urging her on, "what of the relationship between Ryusei and Raidiese?"

"Rai and Ryu's relationship… To be honest, it's surprising sir."

"How so?"

"Well, they're like Fire and Ice, sir." She gestures her hands to the right, "You have Ryu, a happy and cheerful civilian boy who radiates friendliness in one corner." She turns her gesture to the other side, " and you have Rai, a career soldier who has quite a cold aura about him." She puts her hands down, "It seems like they shouldn't get along at all."

"But?"

"But, they REALLY do, sir. Whenever Ryu tries to engage Rai in conversation, he doesn't push him away like you would think. Instead, he responds and gets involved. They also work well together on the battlefield and, in general, seem to be on surprisingly good terms." Aya explains to Ingram.

"That does seem quite unexpected. Luckily, it means that Raidiese's and Ryusei's personality differences are not an issue that needs to be overcome."

He would never say this out loud, but this was one of his largest concerns when the team's roster was finalised. He was worried that Ryusei and Rai would end up trying to murder each other just based on their inability to get along with each other. This is exceptionally good news for Ingram as he can cross off one concern off of his list. He mentally breathes a sigh.

Luckily, he is easily able to mask this relief from Aya and decides to move on.

"What of the relationship between yourself and Ryusei?"

Ingram, once again, gets a surprise as Aya's flustered expression returns and she starts fidgeting again. Ingram concludes from this that Ryusei must be the one teaching her as mentioning him and mentioning training is what's causing her to be flustered. His confusion is WHY it is causing her to become flustered.

"We… We get along fine..." Aya simply says. Again, this sparks Ingram's intrigue as he would have expected her to say that they easily get along with each other without much issue. At least something more than what she just said!

"Anything else, Aya?"

"No…Not really…"

Ultimately, Ingram decides that he shouldn't press into this issue as it may cause her some severe discomfort. He ultimately decides to respond with a simple "I see".

"That's all the details I needed to know, Aya. You can leave now and prepare for the next mock battle against the Haruma squad." He dismisses her.

"Yes, sir!" She walks out of the office, leaving Ingram to his thoughts.

There are many thoughts going through his mind, at the moment. They range from his thoughts on Ryusei's and Rai's surprisingly good relationship, his thoughts on Aya's gradual increase in skills.

But, through all of these thoughts, there is one that is the most vocal in his mind:

_Why did Aya get flustered?_

What is the answer to this question? To know this answer, we must go to immediately before the meeting...

* * *

**Flashback… The simulator room.**

It was at this time that Ryusei was, once again, trying to teach Aya on how to improve her piloting skills.

Since the day that Aya had asked Ryusei to help her improve in her piloting abilities, he had taken every opportunity and smidgen of free time available to help her out. His assistance has greatly helped her as she has improved in the areas of Weapon Accuracy and Melee Skills.

He helped improve her accuracy by simply teaching her to always shoot ahead of targets, never directly. This may sound obvious, but him reminding her helped this field immensely. He also helped fix this area by addressing her bad tendency to "Spray and Pray" by forcing her to use Single Shot weapons like the G-Revolver. It was difficult for her at first, but she eventually got into the feel of using controlled fire. This was proven true he let her use the Machine Gun again as she, on instinct, fired short, controlled bursts. He also encouraged to try and not rely on the FCS too much and to try and use manual locking instead. She took this advice and did not use the T-Link System while practicing.

Ryusei helped Aya's Melee Skills by forcing her in situations where melee is her best option. To do this, he selected the VR to have her face off against a certain Shishioh Blade-Toting Gespenst. Doing this forced her make use of Metal Knives and Beam Sabres until she could better defend herself with them.

Aya did have to admit that Ryusei was quite a good teacher. He could be quite harsh with how he decided to improve these fields, but he was very encouraging and constantly gave her comforting words to help lift her spirits, always telling her to keep at it. Whenever she did something right, Ryusei gave her a nice big grin to congratulate her, followed with an "I knew you could do it!"

Now, at that time, Ryusei was helping Aya improve another field of piloting. This particular field was Reaction Time.

Ryusei, for this piece, had decided to input a combat scenario that he believed would work perfectly for this situation. He had decided to replicate his "First" encounter with the Megillots. The one where he was surrounded on all sides by them.

They had been at it for about two hours and not much leeway had been made in this area. Every-time the simulation is started up, Aya can't react fast enough to dodge the Megillot's piling on her Gespenst and then proceeding to tear it apart. She just can't react fast enough to do it, even when ready for it.

She had just failed again. Frustration was getting to her as she was quickly becoming more and more irritated by the second.

"You're doing well, Aya. One more time and you should make some progress. Keep it up!" Ryusei tried to give her some words of encouragement.

"We should just give up, Ryu. My reaction time isn't getting any better." Her frustration was clear in her voice.

"Come on, Aya. I think I figured out a way to help you, but I need to you to do it one more time so my suspicions are confirmed." She regarded him with a confused look before responding.

"Ok, but if you don't figure something out then we are finishing with this one, OK?!" Her voice was surprisingly stern. It caused Ryusei to flinch a little bit at hearing it.

_Geez, I thought I was the one in charge!_

"Ok, Ok, Aya! Last time, I promise." She gives him a nod, before booting up the VR Mission again.

Unsurprisingly, the Megillots easily swarmed her within a matter of seconds and the "GAME OVER" Screen pops up. She sighed a little and prepares to get out, sliding herself around slightly to gesture this to him.

"Well Ryu, I guess I failed. Let's-"

"I FIGURED IT OUT!" Ryusei interrupted her with a Joyful yell. Now it was her turn to flinch.

"Figured what out, Ryu?"

"What you're doing wrong!" Aya looked at him curiously.

"What am I doing wrong?"

He quickly moves up next the Pod's cockpit and gestures to the controls.

"I noticed it a few times, but I wasn't sure." He put his fist in his hand as a gesture, "you look at the controls when you pilot, don't you?" Aya gives him a confused look.

"I guess, but it is only for a second… Why would that make a difference?" Aya asked with intrigue.

"It makes all the difference!" he exclaimed, "Your Gespenst was stationary for a second before moving to dodge! That second can make all of the difference!"

"It really can make that much difference?"

"Yeah! I bet if you moved in that second, you could easily dodge those bugs!"

She gave him a nod in understanding, "so, how do we get around this problem?"

"Well, the way I see it, we gotta find something for you to focus on so much that you CAN'T look at the controls, forcing you to do it instinctively." He explained.

"Well, what should I focus on, Ryu?" She queried.

"First things first," he used the VR Terminal to set a new scenario. There was no enemies visible on the screen and it was just a clear glassy area, "we need to do it in a place where you are not being attacked. We'll just work up from there."

"Ok, Ryu. My question still remains, what can I focus on?" She reasserted her question.

"Yeah, that's a good question…" he lifted his hand up to his chin and adopts a pensive expression.

Neither do anything for a couple of minutes, both trying to think of something that could work as a distraction for Aya, which proves difficult.

After a while, Aya began to think that it would be hopeless and they were not going to think up anything. She was about to tell him to forget about it before.

"I know!" He snapped his fingers to show this. "Get ready in the cockpit, Aya!"

She noded at him and quickly repositioned herself back in the cockpit, ready to try it out.

What happened next was what truly surprised her.

Ryusei climbed into the Pod, stood in front of the Pilot Chair and positioned himself directly in front of Aya's face. He was so close to her face that their noses were practically touching.

"W-What are you doing, Ryu?!" She exclaims, embarrassment lacing her tone.

"This is my strategy. Focus only on me. Don't look at anything else except me. I ain't moving from this spot until you can make the Gespenst actually move without looking at the controls." Ryusei explains.

_How am I supposed to do anything when you are so close!_

That was not an exaggeration, she could feel herself heating up at the close proximity, she could barely look anywhere except at his eyes which were surprisingly charming. While he does have a common eye colour, his eyes seemed to have some sort of sincerity and softness that can cause someone to get lost in them. He was so close that she felt his breath tickling her lips.

Just as Ryusei said, minutes go by and he is unmoving while Aya struggles to stay conscious as she feels like she could pass out from embarrassment at the close proximity at any given moment. Despite this, however, she still knows that Ryusei is doing this for her and tries to do what he says. She maintained focus on him while grasping hold of the controls, forcing herself to not even glance at them and instead just focusing on Ryusei's eyes.

Surprisingly, it ended up working as she was able to operate the Gespenst without looking at the controls once. Ryusei rewarded her by getting out of her face and congratulating her.

"You did it, Aya!" He gives her a cheerful grin, "We're on the way to making you have the best reaction time ever." He continues to grin at her.

What Ryusei didn't expect was for her to suddenly get out of the pod, quickly say "excuse me," and hurry out of the VR Room, leaving a VERY confused Ryusei.

As Aya was trying to compose herself after that event, an announcement could be heard telling Aya to report to Ingram's office.

When she arrived there, her heart instantly calmed back down at the sight of Ingram and she easily found herself again. Unfortunately, any mention of Ryusei and Training caused the recent memory to appear again and for her to lose her composure again. Luckily, she held on long enough for the meeting to end for her to get ready for the next training exercise.

* * *

**Scene Change… Training Exercise Field…**

The three SRX Team Members were stood in a row in their respective mechs (two Gespensts and a Schutzwald), Ingram's Command Vehicle is located at a respectable distance away from the battlefield. He is just about to give out the objective for this latest exercise.

"The training this time will be to take an enemy position." Ingram explains to the team, "Your Team Splitting Tactic may have worked for the previous scenario; however, you will have to work in formation and break through the enemy unit within the allotted time."

"Your opponents will be, once again, the Haruma Squad. I am expecting an exceptional victory just like the previous one, is that understood?" He asks. They all systemically nod.

"Roger that." The three of them respond simultaneously.

"Lieutenant, who do you want as Point-Man?" Raidiese asks Aya.

"What are you talking about, Rai? I should be point-man!" Ryusei exclaims, "Who's the one that isn't in the big-ass, bulky as hell mech?" Ryusei asks. The question clearly intending to be a rhetorical question. You can imagine Ryusei's surprise when actually got a response.

"The one who has infinitely more competence."

"Hey!"

Aya couldn't help but quietly giggle at the antics of her two team-mates. It was clearly obvious that there was no actual threat behind the banter. It was just the way the two males were with each other, it was something that she had gotten used to.

It had been a few hours after her rather embarrassing moment with the Brown-Haired otaku. While she was in the changing room, she had gotten the chance to properly muse over what, exactly, had transpired and managed to fix herself over it when she realised that that was what it exactly was, a moment. It HAD surprised her when Ryusei had done what he did, but she understood that there were no romantic undertones to it, he's just a sweet kid trying to help out a team-mate. She was just over-thinking things and, as the team-leader, she shouldn't be winding herself up over something like that.

Besides, all she has to do is think about Ingram and that entire fluster just instantly disappears into a cloud of smoke…

She eventually decided to cut into their banter.

"Calm down you two. Today we'll…"

She was cut off at the sound of the emergency alarm springing into life. Rai and Aya share a confused look while Ryusei secretly gives a knowing look at what is about to transpire.

_I guess it's time for shit to hit the fan…_

"What is it?" Ingram asks the Communications Officer. She turns her head away from the console to look at Ingram so she can answer the question.

"We're getting an emergency call from Tango 5 with the 3rd Special Air Transport Squadron." She responds. An image appears on the monitor of the specific Tausendfeussler that she was referring to.

"Tango 5… It should be carrying the Raubitier and the Plus Parts, then." Ingram muses, "what's the situation?" The other operator turns to look at him.

"It's being pursued by unknown units, thirty kilometres to the southeast." He Responds.

* * *

**Scene Change… Island Airspace…**

A large Tausendfuessler is currently flying over the Island, the craft is visible damaged and has a large trail of smoke. There are only three people on board: The pilot, his co-pilot and self-proclaimed and the blue-haired mullet-toting Ladies Man Irmgult (Irm) Kazahara.

"Mayday Mayday!" The Tausendfuessler Co-Pilot yelled over the communicator, "this is Tango 5 with the Third Special Air Transport Squadron. We are currently under attack by unknown hostile forces. Requesting Emergency backup!"

"Once again! This is Tango 5 with the Third Special Air Transport Squadron. We're presently under attack by unknown hostile forces. Requesting Emergency Backup!" He repeats over the communicator. After no reply, he glances back towards Irm and shakes his head, "It's no use, Lieutenant, we can't shake them!"

Irm maintains a composed cheerful face and lets out a fairly relaxed response, "Yare Yare, what rotten luck we have. The moment we make Earthfall we are greeted with this."

The proximity alarm alerts the crew to a missle hurtling straight towards them from the rear.

"A Missle?!" The Pilot exclaims. He moves to evade the oncoming projectile before being interrupted by Irm.

"Wait!"

Instead of hitting the immediate rear of the Craft the Missile misses them by a good few inches. The Pilot and Co-Pilot both have confused expressions.

"It missed us?" The Co-Pilot asks.

"No, that was on purpose." Irm replies, he regards the radar that shows the hostile position with an annoyed look.

"Are they trying to taunt us? Or do they know what we are carrying?" Irm wonders. He, of course, references to the PTX-006 WildRaubitier. He is, once again, broken out of his thoughts when the communicator blares into life and a familiar voice resounds over it.

"Tango 5, Come in. This is Major Ingram Prisken with the Far East Division." Irm instantly recognises the person.

"Captain Ingram?!"

"Irm, what are you doing here?" Ingram queries.

"Well, I had to leave Mao Industries due to extenuating circumstances." Irm explains.

"Who are the pursuers?"

"We haven't identified them yet. Though, at the very least, they don't seem to be Aerogators."

"Roger that, we're currently on Mizutori Island. Head in the direction of our signal." Ingram responds.

"Roger." The pilots share a knowing look and do what was just said without even being commanded to.

* * *

**Back on the ground…**

Ingram opens up with communications with the Three Personal Troopers, his face appearing on their view screens.

"Command Vehicle to all ground units. Tango 5, a flying transport, is currently being pursued by unknown units in Area 1056." Ingram explains. Aya gives a surprised expression while Rai only shows mild surprise and Ryusei fakes surprise.

"The Training has been suspended. We will escort Tango 5 to this area. All three of you, equip Live Ammo and go give support."

"Roger that!" They all respond. They all then proceed to swap out their magazines from EMP Paint Rounds to normal Ballisitc Ammunition. Both Gespensts swap out their Hologram Sabres with Beam Sabres and the Schutzwald charges its Twin Beam Cannon to lethal levels. After completing this task, they all return to formation and await the next order.

"Major, what will the Haruma Squad do?" The Command Vehicle's Communications Officer asks.

"Have them pull back to the Transport." Ingram responds. "Also, Request backup from Izu Base."

"Roger."

"Aya, you will remain here to provide support for the retreating units. Rai, Ryusei, head out and cover Tango 5." The three of them all nod in response to the order given.

"Roger, Sir!"

Ryusei's Gespenst and Rai's Schutzwald both ignite their boosters and head off to provide support. Meanwhile, Aya's Gespenst remains stationary and on alert for any enemies that may try and attack.

* * *

**With the Haruma Squad…**

"Lieutenant…" The Driver of Haruma's Government begins, "is it really a good idea to leave the defence to that squad, sir?"

"Our tanks would be ineffective against aerial combat units so I would say so, soldier." He replies.

"But… Relying on robots, sir?" The soldier asks incredulously.

"Those Robots defeated us fairly. They have the right to provided this support." He closes his eyes in a pensive manner, "Times could be changing…"

* * *

**Back with Irm's Tausendfuessler…**

"Sir, we Mizutori Island in sight." The Pilot informs him. Irm nods in response.

"Right."

A **BLEEP **on the radar indicates that there is an enemy directly behind the Tausendfuessler.

"Contacts behind Bogey One, two of them… They're not broadcasting friendly IFF signals!" The co-pilot says.

"Can you tell what they are?" Irm asks.

"Yes they're…" An image of the enemy fighter plane appears on his display, "F-32 Schwerts!"

"Hey, aren't those the latest model?!" Ingram exclaims, "They barely been deployed yet!"

The close proximity sensor roars into life. "Bogey-One" flies ahead and straight past the Tausendfuessler. The Three crew members greeted, for the first time, to the sight of the DCAM-004 LION in Tenzan's colours. They all regard it with a look of confusion and surprise.

"A Personal Trooper?!" The Co-pilot asks confusedly.

"What the hell?!" Irm yells.

The Yellow Lion does not even looks back and instead continues directly on for Mizutori Island. The pilot had his communicator off so they could not hear him yell out a single phrase:

"ABOUT TIME I GOT SOME FUCKING EXPERIENCE!"

* * *

**Back with the Haruma Squad…**

"Sir, Bogey-One appears to be heading in our direction!" One of the tank's crewmen informs Haruma.

"All units, split up and head for the rendezvous point separately." He regards the Crewman again, "Bogey-One still has not been identified?" He asks him.

"Well, something about a flying Personal Trooper…"

"What?!"

* * *

**Back with Rai and Ryusei…**

"Wait… There aren't supposed to be any flying Personal Troopers, right Rai?" Ryusei asks Rai, already knowing the answer.

"No, there are supposed to be no Personal Troopers that are currently able to perform Independent Flight!" Rai explains in a rather angered tone.

"Well, what do you think we are dealing with then? I know that Battleships maintain flight thanks to Tesla Drives, do you think it's possible to shrink a Tesla Drive to a Personal Trooper's size?"

"It has been theorised, but there are no current units that do it!"

A tense silence passes over the two.

"This is Ingram…" The communicator blares into life, breaking the pair out of their silence. "The enemy seems to have set its sights on the Haruma Squad. Divert Course and assist them."

"Roger, and what about Tango 5?" Rai asks.

"It's getting clear of the area, I'll have it head your way. Protect the Haruma Squad."

" Roger that, did you get that, Ryusei?"

"I sure did," Ryusei replies with a grin "let's hurry and go help those outdated pieces of junk!" They both share a nod and set off, in their Personal Troopers, to assist the currently assaulted Haruma Squad.

* * *

**Meanwhile, with Tenzan…**

Tenzan is currently heading directly for the retreating tanks, his face holds a look of sheer determination and pure aggression written all over it. Unlike his older expressions which usually comprised of boredom and excitement, there is one word that describes the currently look that graces his ugly features… Angry. Very, VERY angry.

"Time to get me some much needed XP! I'm going to need to level up a shit-load if I am going to be able to beat that little Shit-Stain!" He regards his radar that is informing of the tanks, he gives a little growl of irritation, "Just Fucking tanks… I'm going to need to kill 100 Fucking tanks to level up once!"

"Wait Tenzan!" One of the Schwert's pilots call over the communicator, "Pull back immediately! We have already completed our objective!"

"Sorry, but I need the Fucking experience!" Tenzan retorts.

"Any further action would be-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU LITTLE DIPSHIT!" He slams his hand on the communicator, ceasing the dialogue and instead focuses his attentions on the enemy tanks. He grasps hold of the controllers and commands the Lion to charge directly for the Tanks.

He begins to shoot his Railgun at them, systematically annihilating every tank in his peripheral, all the while, laughing manically.

"THAT'S IT. DIE! I NEED EXPERIENCE!"

Rai and Ryusei watch as the tank's signals systematically disappear of their radar. Their expressions a mix of sadness and anger. Inside Ryusei's head, however, he also has condusing thoughts:

_The tanks are being destroyed much faster than they were before! What the hell is going on?!_

He's broken out of his thoughts when his radar informs him that the two Schwerts are closing in on his and Rai's position.

"We can't lose the Lion! We'll slow those two down!"

"Roger!"

One of the Schwerts fires two Anti-Ground Missiles at the Personal Troopers. Both of these home directly in on Rai's Schutzwald and chase him for a few seconds. Luckily, he quickly swings around and, using his Schutzwald's Autocannons, shoots them before they can connect. The Schwert follows this attack upon with its own Gatling Guns. The Schutzwald, however, is easily able to dodge this attack.

"Rai, I'm gonna go on ahead," Ryusei informs him, "you can handle these guys, right?!"

"Of course, now hurry and save the Haruma Squad!"

"Right!" With that, Ryusei's Gespenst increases speed and heads in the direction of the Haruma Squad, leaving Rai to defeat the two opponents. He charges his Scutzwald's Twin Beam Cannon and lets off a blast at one of the Schwerts. It, unfortunately, is able to skilfully dodge. Rai's lock-on alarm sounds indicating the Schwert behind him, whom lets off a barrage of Gatling Gun shots. Rai, however, only just dodges this attack.

"I don't know who they're with, but they're well trained." Rai mused, "But they picked the wrong opponent!" He swivelled around and fired a burst of energy out of his Beam Cannon. The Schwert pilot only just swerved out of the way and flew past Rai's Schutzwald, however, Rai was faster and quickly started firing round after round of his autocannon. They successfully connect with the Fighter Plane causing it to explode into a mid-air cloud of fire.

During this, Tenzan continued to systematically destroy every tank, only a handful remained, one of which being Haruma's Tank.

"Turn this Tank around and attack the enemy!" He commands the crew, "we'll distract the enemy long enough for our allies to escape!"

"Lieutenant Haruma!"

"All of you, hurry to the rendezvous point!"

Haruma's Tank turned around and headed straight towards the Lion, its Main Gun at the ready, while the remaining tanks continued on.

"Oh, this guys got balls! I'll bet he'll give me a level or two!" Tenzan yelled.

Haruma's Tank fires the Main Gun, but the Lion superior speed and agility allows it to easily dodge the slow moving shot.

"Sorry, your Range stats are WAY too fucking low, bitch!" Tenzan shouts mockingly. He fires two blasts from his Railgun that skilfully hit the treads of the tank, rendering it completely immobile.

"Shit!" The tank operator screams.

"KEEP FIRING, SOLDIER!" Haruma commands.

"SORRY, NOTHING PERSONAL! I JUST NEED THE EXPERIENCE TO KILL THAT BASTARD!" Tenzan manically laughs out. His Lion's Railgun charging it's killing shot.

"TIME TO D-"

"T-LINK RIPPER!"

Out of nowhere, two green energy disks zoom directly towards the Lion. Tenzan barely has enough time to evade one of the disks. Unfortunately, the other disk saws through the Lion's right arm-mounted missile launcher, forcing Tenzan to detach, lest his whole arm explode. The Missile Launcher does so, revealing the Lion's insect-like arm underneath. Tenzan, enraged by this, compensates by quickly equipping the Lion's Assault Blade and scanning the area for the attack.

"WHO THE FUCK INTERRUPTED MY KILL?!" He yells out in anger. He gets his answer when he sees a single Gespenst charging towards him, Machine Gun in one hand, beam Sabre in the other.

Ryusei is quite shocked at what he sees, many more tanks litter the battlefield than in the previous timeline. He instantly recognises the Lion and can assume whom is piloting the unit based on the Paint Job alone.

_Only Tenzan has his mechs in that colour scheme. DC must have still picked him up after burning PT. GODDAMNIT! He's killed a shit-ton more than last time! Is this somehow my fault?!_

He eventually gets in front of Haruma's damaged tank, shielding the damaged vehicle from any more potential damage.

"That Gespenst…" Haruma muses.

"Lieutenant, hurry!"

"That voice…"

"You need to get out of here quickly!"

"Sergeant!"

"Quickly!" Ryusei yells.

"R-right…" He responds by climbing out his tank along with his subordinate. They both run away in the opposite direction of the confrontation.

"You know, I should be pissed off that you cost me a kill…" Tenzan mutters, "but I'm gonna get double the amount of XP from you, so who gives a shit?!" He raises his rail-gun and fires a volley of blasts at Ryusei Gespenst. He retaliates by easily dashing to the right while letting off a burst of Machine-gun fire. Tenzan, unfortunately, is able to evade the attack and, instead of firing another Railgun burst, he charges straight towards Ryusei's Gespenst, angling the Lion so it's feet-first, its long pointed limbs directed forward.

"W-what the…" Ryusei, confused at the odd tactic, only reacts by holding his arms up to block. This does not do much as, when Tenzan connects, Ryusei block is cancelled and pushed backwards, his right hand holding the Machine-Gun hanging towards the sky.

Tenzan quickly angles forward and, using the momentum, swipes his Assault Blade downwards, only just cutting the barrel of the Gespenst's Machine Gun.

"Shit!" Ryusei exclaims. He quickly retaliates by recovering and swiping his beam sabre downwards, cutting off the Lion's Left Arm and, in effect, its Railgun. Tenzan's Lion staggers backwards, but quickly recovers.

"Fuck! This guy is really good!" Tenzan gives a psychotic smile, "he's really going to give me PLENTY of experience!" He charges at the Gespenst again, Assault Blade at the ready.

"Bring it!" Ryusei yells, responding by charging with his own beam sabre.

As expected, both blades clash and fiery sparks burst off the clash, slightly igniting the grassy area around them. The Lion's superior boosters start pushing the Gespenst back. However, it responds by digging its feet into the ground, making movement much more difficult.

It seems like neither are going to budge until the Lion does something rarely used. It fires its Chest Mounted Autocannons at the Gespenst. While this doesn't deal severe damage it does cause the Main Camera to be damaged, momentarily stunning the Gespenst, causing it to break the clash and stagger backwards. Tenzan follows this up by tilting the Lion upwards and kicking the Beam Sabre out of the Gespenst's hands. He then follows this up by tilting forwards while swiping the Assault Blade, allowing for momentum.

"YOU'RE MINE!" Tenzan yells.

What Tenzan doesn't expect is for the Gespenst to physically GRAB the Assault Blade with its right hand. Tenzan doesn't waste any time in using the chainsaw on the blade to easily rip apart the Gespesnt's hand and continue to tear through some of the arm. Unfortunately, Tenzan is so focused on doing this that he does not see the Gespenst's left hand curled into a fist coming directly at him.

The fist connects with the right side of the Lion's head, knocking it away from the Gespenst and causing it's left eye lens to shatter. It also left a large dent in the right side of the Lion's head. What is also caused was for Tenzan to accidentally let go of the Assault Blade, flinging the sword a fair distance away from them, the blade impaling the ground between them to the right, a tantalizing weapon for both pilots , given the circumstances. Unfortunately, both pilots are breathing heavily, physically exhausted after that intense clash, each eyeing up each other's mech. Both of them knowing full well that their mechs on their last legs.

Both are missing one arm and their ranged and melee weapons. A clean incision for the Lion's missing arm while the Gespensts looks like it has been put through the Scrapper. The Gespenst's visor is shattered due to the autocannon and the Lion's head is heavily dented on the right side (if you were look from behind the lion, not the front), it's eye lens busted. What was also worth noting was that there was scoring on the armour from the sparks flying.

Both pilots having a moment to collect their thoughts.

_He is worth… So much experience… _Were Tenzan's thoughts.

_This is definitely him… but he was never this intense. Was this all my fault? _Were Ryusei's thoughts.

Neither moved for a few seconds, but both briefly glanced at the Assault Blade waiting to be taken by one of them. Both got ready to make there move. That was until…

A Stream of Blue Energy came out of nowhere veering directly for Tenzan's Lion. He managed to dash into the air to avoid it, unfortunately, an energy disk followed suit and managed to sheer through the Lion's Left Leg.

"SHIT! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!"

Tenzan got his answer when he noticed the approaching Gespenst and Schutzwald, both fully equipped and not damaged in the slightest.

"Phew, they made it!" Ryusei breathed a sigh of relief.

Tenzan, realising his situation, screams in enrage at his missed kill.

"I WAS SO CLOSE TO GETTING THAT FUCKING EXPERIENCE!"

Those were his last words before quickly boosting away from the Island, successfully escaping what had quickly become a losing battle.

Eventually, Rai's Schutzwald and Aya's Gespenst arrived next to Ryusei's Damaged Gespenst.

"Ryu, are you alright?" Aya asked with a concerned tone, her face appearing on the video communicator. Ryusei just gave her a little smile.

"I'm fine, Aya, thanks for asking."

This was a lie. In reality, he was hurting inside. Hurting because he believes that what he just fought was his own creation.

* * *

**Sometime Later… The PT Carrier Boat…**

"Then that machine was…?" Aya asked Ingram.

"Neither a Federation Machine, nor a Personal Trooper." He responded.

"Who an earth would make such a thing?" She queried.

"We'll conduct an inspection regarding the particulars once we return to Izu." Aya nodded.

"Yes, sir." Both of them then glanced at Ryusei, who was hanging over the railing looking out to sea, a pensive look on his face. Ingram looks at him with an approving smile.

"He keeps surprising me, Aya." Ingram states, "He managed to fight on even grounds with a unit that had air superiority and superior weapons. I knew my decision was right to include in this team."

"You're right, sir. He is amazing."

Ryusei was deep in thought about today's events and how much has changed. The more he thinks about it, the more he goes back to the boy's warnings. How he warned him about how his actions would have consequences.

_This was what he meant, isn't it? I created this Tenzan because of my stupid, selfish desire to spite him, now look what's happened…_

"Sergeant." A familiar voice called from behind him. Ryusei turns around to regard Lieutenant Haruma.

"Are you okay, sir?" Ryusei asked.

"I am fine, thank you for asking." Haruma replied, "I came her to give my thanks, you saved our lives, Sergeant."

_Did I? Did I really? Or did I just make things worse?_

"But… I could have saved more, so many didn't have to die." Ryusei responded.

"Don't be so conceited." Haruma rebutted him, "there was nothing more you could have done. But that does not change the fact that the ones who survived would not be standing had it not been for you. You have to accept the loss and become stronger for it" he reached up and grasped his shoulder, "Accept that fact, understood?"

Ryusei looked at Haruma for a few seconds and pondered what he had said. It may sound cold, but Ryusei understands that this was necessary, this emphasised tragedy. He needed to find out that his actions have consequences, be it good… Or bad.

_That's why… Next time I'll be more careful!_

"Keep up the work, Sergeant. You have people counting on you." Ryusei saluted him.

"Yes sir!"

Haruma gave him a slight smile and turned to walk away.

_More than you know, lieutenant… More than you know…_

* * *

_**WOW! That is finally done! That took me a long time! That doesn't excuse my ridiculously long hiatus, though, so sorry for that! Real life got in the way…**_

_**Anyway this chapter…**_

_**I got a bit mixed with Haruma's rank. He is a lieutenant, NOT a sergeant. My mistake!**_

_**For those of you who are confused about what went on with Aya and my motives behind it. Let me quickly explain:**_

_**Aya needed to see Ryusei's attractive features, she needs to be able to see him as a male in order to fall for him down the line. However, whatever minor attraction she feels is dwarfed by her undying love for Ingram. Obviously, she'll fall for him AFTER Ingram's betrayal, but every plant needs a seed.**_

_**Tenzan is much stronger. This is because he has a purpose for fighting; he has a reason to go all out all the time. This simple reason is to defeat Ryusei. Having this objective has pushed him to his limits. Also, this probably has the most swearing I have ever written.**_

_**Let's address some comments:**_

_**Someone mentioned about "Record Of ATX", I have read some of it, but I couldn't continue because it, once again, swept the SRX Team under the rug and Bullet was WAY too overrated in that manga.**_

_**People have voiced concerns about how I am going to handle Bullet. I am NOT going to bash him. I never let my prejudices influence how I write a fanfic! EVER! I will give Bullet what I believe to be fair treatment. Honestly, I don't see how people like him. He's bland, boring and has as much personality as a cardboard cut-out. His piloting skills are substandard compared to everyone elses. The only time he got shit done was when he was behind the wheel of Koryuoh, a robot god! What's that tell you?! He's a crappy pilot who needs a super robot to be competent! I can't count the amount of times I have failed a mission because of this Douchebag. Freaking useless, boring-ass character, in my opinion.**_

_**But enough of my rant, please review my story.**_

_**R-0 Out!**_


End file.
